On The Run
by VDStar
Summary: Nathan's actions cause the heroes to go on the run. What happens when Peter and Claire are fugitives together? Semi-AU for Volume 4, but following along the same theme.
1. Prologue and Chapter 1

**On the Run**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own _Heroes_ or any of the characters from the show, I am simply borrowing them for this story since they belong to Tim Kring and NBC, I am simply a fan.

**Spoiler Warning:** This story is based off of a possible spoiler and the preview for Season 3, Volume 4. So please do not read this story if you do not wish to be spoiled.

Also I do not know the accuracy of the spoiler, so this story may turn AU very quickly.

**Author's Note:** This story is a Paire story, and I have at the moment decided to follow the 'Heroes' storyline in regard to their familial connection, so be warned: this will contain incest unless I change my mind. And in this story, Claire just turned 18, so it would've been the beginning of her senior year.

**Rating:** T for now, possibly M for later chapters

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**Prologue**

"You flew!" Nathan screamed pacing in front of the crouching Peter. "That wasn't me that was you!" He continued. "You took the formula! Everything you were against!"

"I had to do it." Peter gasped coming to his feet.

"Why'd you save me?" Nathan asked pointing toward Peter.

"Because you're my brother and I love you." Peter gasped out.

"It's not what I would've done." Nathan continued darkly before rising up into the sky and disappearing into the night.

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**Chapter One**

Since the fires at Pinehearst and Primatech, Claire Bennet received her GED and returned to stay at the Petrelli mansion while looking for colleges in New York with Angela Petrelli. Peter returned to his first love of helping people through medicine, this time as a paramedic.

Nathan had unofficially moved out of the Petrelli mansion; only coming to the home a few days a week to do paperwork on the ground floor study, refusing to have any physical interaction with his mother or daughter. Peter, sensing his brother's distance and on some level aware of what he planned, kept away from the mansion when Nathan was in residence.

A month passed since Peter and Nathan last saw each other in those woods in New Jersey outside of Pinehearst. The sun shone brightly when the two brothers finally met again.

Peter strode through the mansion as if the devil were on his heels. He slammed into his brother's office and stopped short at the sight of the man who for so many years was his hero, standing before the windows.

He took a deep breath before speaking and cleared his throat, causing his brother to turn to face him.

"So you're just going to round us all up? Get rid of us?" He said in greeting, offering a nonchalant shrug, as if the answer didn't matter to him.

His brother remained silent for a moment, no emotion showing on his face.

"Now Peter." He began, taking a step closer, hoping to calm Peter before the inevitable explosion. Peter zeroed in on his brother's thoughts and his eyes widened at what he heard there.

"Nathan! Are you insane?" Peter finally yelled, unable to contain the anger he felt since learning of the disappearances.

"Hiro Nakamura is missing!" Peter continued stopping only inches away from Nathan. "And your former advisor, Tracy Strauss? She's missing too!"

Peter ran his hand through his hair and lightly shoved his older brother.

"What have you done Nathan?" He snarled.

"What I had to do." Nathan replied ominously, returning to his place in front of the window nodding slightly as he looked out towards the street. Peter glanced quickly at the window and catching a stray thought of his brother's, his head shot up.

"No." Peter whispered slowly backing out of the room. "You wouldn't."

But his brother's thoughts told Peter that he would and did, causing the younger man to rush out of the room and upstairs to where Claire had been staying since her return to New York.

"Claire!" He yelled, rushing into her room without stopping to knock, startling the young woman who lounged on her bed looking over the latest packet of college information

"We have to get out of here!" Peter continued, moving forward to pull Claire to her feet.

"Peter! What's going on?" Claire gasped out, hurriedly pushing her hair out of her face as Peter pulled her out her door and down the hallway.

"Nathan." Peter answered simply, before suddenly stopping causing Claire to slam into his back.

"Oof." She mumbled, taking a step back.

"Did you hear that?" Peter whispered, glancing at the empty hall behind them.

"Hear what Peter?" Claire asked, getting aggravated at the cloak and daggerness of this whole situation. "What's wrong?"

Muffled thumps were heard on the roof, beginning at both ends. Peter snapped his head towards the sound, before tugging on Claire's hand again to pull her down the stairs.

"We have to get out of here." He repeated, pulling her along the downstairs hallway.

"Peter stop!" Claire yelled, trying to pull her hand back. "What's happening?" She cried just as a loud crash came from upstairs.

"Peter? Claire?" Angela's confused voice came from the sitting room to their right. "What are you doing?"

"Ma!" Peter gasped out, pulling Claire closer to him. "Nathan, he's…." He trailed off, glancing upstairs as another crash sounded. "They're coming! We have to go now!" He continued, gesturing to his mother to follow him. Angela glanced sharply at the floor above them where boots pounded against the hard wood floors.

"What has he done?" She whispered, before quickly following her younger son and granddaughter towards the kitchen. Behind them the front door flew open with a crash and the entrance hall was quickly filled with men outfitted in riot gear carrying guns.

Claire glanced back over her shoulder just as the doors crashed open and Peter picked up his pace.

"Oh my god!" She cried out, now running alongside her hero and grandmother.

"Stop!" Boomed a voice from behind them as the men gathered in the hall, their guns raised.

Peter glanced behind him, and pulled Claire closer as his mother yanked open the back door and the three rushed into the backyard.

They stopped suddenly as they came face to face with the group of men waiting for their exit. Claire turned, prepared to return to the house for another escape, only to find the first group of men waiting for them.

One of the men moved forward, his gun pointed towards Claire.

"Our objective is to bring you to the facility. It is best if you agree to go quietly." He said, gesturing to Claire.

Peter pulled Claire closer to his side, glancing around him for any way to escape.

"Nathan stop this." Angela hissed as her oldest son emerged from the back of the group.

"I'm just doing what's best for the greater good." Nathan answered, meeting his mother's eyes. "You understand that don't you ma? Sacrifice a few to save many."

"She's your daughter!" Peter yelled.

Peter stepped back dropping his arm around Claire's waist and reaching out his other arm to grasp his mother's.

"They have been ordered to shoot anyone who tries to resist." Nathan said calmly. "Now!" He ordered just as the masked men rush in from all sides. Claire is ripped from Peter's side, screaming as she tried to fight off the two men who are holding her.

"Peter!" She screamed, her legs flailing as she tried to escape from the men holding her.

"Claire!" Peter yelled back, trying to fight through the mass of men to get to Claire.

"Nathan!" Angela screamed out, watching in horror as the men began to drag her granddaughter away. "Stop this! For god's sake she's your daughter!"

As she was pulled further from the mass of men, Claire could clearly see the sharpshooters on the roof of the Petrelli mansion. Fearing for Peter's safety as he tried to fight the men separating him from Claire, she made a difficult decision.

"Go! Get out of here! I'll be fine!" Claire yelled, struggling against her captors anew, kicking one in the shin, only to be grabbed and held in place by a third.

"We're not leaving you!" Peter yelled back, trying again to push through the men.

"Go!" Claire yelled again, struggling again as the men began to pull her back towards the house. The two stilled as their eyes met and held, before Claire broke the contact to try to elbow one of her captors.

"I'll come back for you!" Peter promised, returning to his mother's side, and grabbed her arm. Before anyone could react he and Angela shot into the sky, disappearing from view within seconds.

"Sir! Should we go after them?" The leader gasped as he ran to Nathan's side.

"No, they're not on the list." Nathan answered absently, watching the three men, pull a struggling Claire through the back door.

"But sir, he has an ability."

"He is not on the list." Nathan answered with finality looking towards the sky.

"Yes sir." The other man answered, before following the others into the house.

"And try not to make a scene as you leave." Nathan called, not even turning to look.

"Yes sir." Came the answer as the leader slipped inside. "Gag her! And sedate her! The senator doesn't want her causing a scene!" He was heard calling out to the others.


	2. Chapter 2

***Spoiler Warning: **Okay this is the chapter that is based directly off the previews for volume 4 and a possible spoiler that I heard, so beware those who do not wish to be possibly spoiled.

**

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Chapter Two

Their faces were covered with black masks, no one can identify those around them, cannot find comfort in others to get through this hell. Beads of sweat trickled down Claire's face, her breathing heavy and deep as she tried to calm herself, her only focus, putting one foot in front of the other. She overheard men talking, mentioning that they're all being put on a freight plane to be taken to a facility somewhere in the West. Her wrists and ankles were bound together with chains, making walking difficult. Before she could consider what she heard, a rough hand grasped her elbow, pulling her further into the hatch, and Claire was only on level ground for a few moments before she was roughly shoved into a seat, and ordered to keep her mouth shut, or she'll regret it.

Claire sighed deeply, taking deep breaths to try to keep the tears at bay. She doesn't know how many days passed since she was taken from the Petrelli mansion and this hell began.

She sat silently, her back aching against the hard steel of the seat, feeling the plane shake as each new person was brought on and shoved into their seats. No one spoke, other then the orders given from their captors in undertone.

Claire didn't know how long she was sitting on the plane, waiting, before she heard the hatch close and the roar of the engines. Their captors said nothing to them, other than harsh words demanding silence. The plane vibrated beneath her feet and she heard the gasps of the others as the plane began to taxi down the runway. Claire braced herself against her seat, knowing instinctively that they would soon lift off.

She couldn't contain a quiet whimper as she felt the plane lift into the air, taking her further away from anything normal, and brining her and the others ever closer to hell.

Minutes passed, hours, she lost track of time long ago. She could hear the heavy breathing of the other prisoners, hear the rustle of clothing and she imagined the others reaching out to each other for some comfort as they traveled ever closer to their unknown destination.

"Claire?" Came a harsh whisper from right in front of her. Claire lifted her head in response, trying to find the source of the sound. Before she could pinpoint the movement she heard in front of her, the mask lifted from her face and she was staring into Peter's worried brown eyes.

"Peter!" Claire whispered, a smile finally breaking across her face. "How did you?" She trailed off, looking around her at the other people still chained in their seats.

"I promised you I'd come back for you." She noted the bright orange jumpsuit that both she and Peter, as well as the other prisoners were wearing. She grimaced at the meaning and then turned her attention back to Peter when he pulled out a thin metal pick and pulled Claire's hands towards him and inserted the pick into the lock of the chain around her wrists. After a few minutes of fiddling, the lock finally clicked free.

"Impressive." Claire said, smiling down at him as Peter worked on the lock around her ankles. "Are there any guards?" She asked looking around the hatch again.

"They're indisposed at the moment." Peter answered, pulling the chains from around her ankles, freeing Claire's legs. Claire gasped at the tingling sensation as the blood flow was reestablished and Peter lightly rubbed them to help relieve the tingling. Peter gently pulled Claire to her feet, enveloping her in a tight hug, before they turned and looked around the hatch in front of them.

"We have to help them." Claire urgently whispered, glancing up at Peter entreatingly.

"I know." Peter answers grimly. He pulled a second metal pick out of his pocket and handed it to Claire. They moved as one, ducking down in the center of the hatch behind some boxes as they hear movement from the other end. Peter held a finger to his lips as he leaned past Claire to look towards the sound of the noise. He noted the guard making his rounds at that end, and held out a hand to keep Claire still until the guard returned to another part of the plane.

"Okay now!" He whispered the two silently moving from their hiding place and moving towards the two prisoners in front of them.

Claire lifted the mask off the prisoner in front of her, revealing Tracy Strauss. Next to her, Peter revealed Hiro Nakamura. Peter glanced at the two prisoners and then at Claire.

"They've been drugged."

"I know, it's to keep us in check." Claire answered.

"They didn't drug you."

"They did." She replied, then shrugged. "It didn't take." Peter nodded in understanding before turning his attention to the young Japanese man in front of him.

"Ando." Hiro whispered, head lolling to the side as he tried to focus on the man in front of him.

"Just hold on Hiro. We're going to get you out of here." Peter whispered leaning forward to try to open the lock. Next to him Claire struggled with the lock around Tracy's chains.

"Here let me." Peter whispered as he finished with the lock around Hiro's ankles. Claire moved to the side as Peter took her place in front of Tracy. He quickly unlocked the chains and Tracy gasped as the blood rushes through her lower legs.

Just as Peter and Claire were about to move to the next prisoners a shout erupted from behind them.

"Hey you! Stop or I'll shoot!" One of the guard's that Peter knocked out before releasing Claire stood before them with his gun pointed. He kept his eyes on them as he reached one hand up to his walkie.

"We have a problem back here!" He yelled, never taking his attention from the two people before him.

"Hiro! Take them and teleport!" Peter yelled out, gesturing to Claire and Tracy, preparing to face off against the guard in front of him.

"I cannot." Hiro hesitantly answered. "Arthur Petrelli took my power." He finished sadly.

Peter inwardly groaned.

"Release as many as you can. I'll take care of him." He said, striding forward.

"Stop right there or I will shoot!" The guard threatened. Peter continued forward, his left side jerking when the guard's bullet struck him in the upper chest. His forward motion never stopped as the wound healed itself and Peter wrapped his hand around the guard's neck. His fist drew back and a hard punch sent the guard sprawling to the ground.

"Hurry!" He gasped out following quickly behind Claire as she freed Matt, Daphne and Ando, before a second guard's voice interrupted them.

"They're releasing the prisoners! Bring it down!" He called into his walkie talkie, backing away from the growing group.

The plane lurched, as the pilot changed course, sending the group scattering as some slammed into the walls of the hatch, while others skidded across the floor. The plane veered downward, causing Claire to lose her balance and slide down the hatch. Peter scrambled after her, catching her hand and hauling her close before she collided with the back of the hatch. The two crawled, using the seats for leverage, and came upon the small emergency exit door.

Peter glanced wildly at Claire and then at the hatch around him. Recognizing the look in his eyes Claire gasped.

"No! We have to save them!" She cried, wrenching her hand from his and pulling herself into a standing position. "Take as many as you can! I can heal!"

"We don't know if you could survive this!" Peter argued, holding onto the knob of the door for balance.

"Then go now and come back for me!" Claire yelled, pushing him towards the small group huddled together holding onto the boxes for balance. Peter opened his mouth to argue, but decided it against it, instead yelling for Tracy, Daphne, and Ando to come with him.

Behind Peter, Claire struggled to open the door, gasping and grabbing onto the seat when the force of the air pressure wrenched it out of her hands and swung the door open. Before she could blink, Peter launched out of the open door an arm around both Tracy and Daphne, who held onto a nervous Ando. Unable to move from her spot next to the seat, Claire watched helplessly as the other prisoners cried out with each jerky movement of the plane. Within seconds Peter returned, and Claire yelled for Matt and Hiro to join him. The two men helped each other move across the hatch, then each grabbed onto one of Peter's shoulders, before they too disappeared into the night.

Claire's arms grew weak as she tried to anchor herself to the seat, the pressure from the open door becoming harder to resist.

"Claire!" Peter yelled as he returned to the plane. "Come on!" He rushed to his earlier hiding place and pulled out a large backpack then threw it over his shoulder, before grasping Claire around the waist.

Claire glanced back at the other prisoners, still locked in.

"What about them?" She cried out, throwing her arms around Peter's neck, as he backed them closer to the open door.

"It's too late! We can't help them!" He returned brokenly.

"I'm sorry." He whispered to the others in front of them, so quietly that Claire wouldn't have heard him over all the noise if she wasn't so closely huddled against him.

Peter backed out of the plane, taking to the air and holding tightly to Claire as he watched the plane continue its path towards the ground. He felt the wetness of Claire's tears against his cheek. He hugged her and flinched when the plane fell low enough that it began to skid through the trees beneath them. He and Claire watched the plane bounce against the trees, slowing its descent, before skidding along the ground and coming to a stop, with only an orange glow and a path of destruction marking its location.

Claire whimpered softly against his chest and Peter slowly lowered them down to the ground.

"All those people." She whispered brokenly, her forehead resting against Peter's as they both tried to cope with the tragedy.

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**Author's Note:** Thank you for all the reviews you guys! I'm so glad you enjoyed the first chapter and please keep those reviews coming!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

As soon as their feet touched the ground Claire's knees gave out underneath her. All the anguish of the last few days, years really, finally catching up with her. She sobbed brokenly, wrenching her eyes shut against the sight of the wreckage of the plane in front of them. Peter dropped to his knees next to her, holding her shaking body close as she let out her frustrations.

They sit there together on the forest floor for a few moments before Peter heard a noise over Claire's sobs. His head snapped up and looked towards the wreckage of the plane.

"Claire." He gasped, lifting her face to his so their eyes met. He gently wiped away the tears that still streamed down her face before lifting a finger to her lips.

"I think I heard something." He continued, his fingers catching another few stray tears.

Claire held her breath, ears honed for any sound, and then she heard it, muffled shouts, coming from the wreckage in front of them.

"They're alive!" She cried out, just as she and Peter jumped to their feet and hurtled through the woods to the plane.

As they came upon the wreckage a few people milled about the area, some looking to the tops of the trees in shock, while others sat on the ground their heads in their hands.

"How is this possible?" Peter murmured, stopping at the closest person to him to check for injuries. Claire moved past him and stopped in front of a young boy, who is standing next to the plane with his hand against the cool metal.

"I remember you." She said blankly, taking in the curly brown hair. "You were at Kirby Plaza, with a man and a woman."

"My parents." The boy answered sadly. "I remember you too."

"What are you doing?" She asked noting his hand against the side of the plane.

"I'm saying thank you."

"To who?" Claire asked, looking around for a person that he could be thanking.

"Not who, what." He answered with a shake of his head. "The plane." He finished nodding towards the metal frame.

"You're thanking the plane?" Claire asked dubiously.

"I can talk to machines. Anything electronic. All I have to do is touch it and I can talk to it. I knew that they were going to try to crash us, I guess they figured better to kill us all then to allow us to escape, so I asked that we have a smoother landing than the one initially planned."

"But how? Didn't they have you chained like the rest of us?"

"They did. It made things more difficult, but I've gotten stronger so I was able to get my point across without direct contact." He shrugged again. "That's why I'm thanking it, because it still understood what I was asking for." He removed his hand from the side of the plane and held it out to Claire. "I'm Micah by the way."

"Claire." She answered, giving his hand a firm shake.

As Claire and Micah were talking Peter and the other freed prisoners including the ones he was able to take off the plane before the crash, helped to free those still chained to the plane.

Within an hour all of the prisoners who survived the crash being held on that flight were released, the healthy taking care of the injured. Those able to walk freely gathered in groups, as Peter walked towards the front of them and whistled for attention.

"We have to go underground." Peter said loudly so his voice could carry across the groups of people standing in front of him. "The government knows about us and they think we're a danger."

"I have to get home to my family!" A man called out from the back.

"No!" Claire called back, coming to stand beside Peter. "They want to experiment on us, study us; they'll hunt us down and the first place they'll think we'll go is to our families. We have to disappear."

"Split up into groups. As small as you can, no more than 4 people per group, then go deep, so deep that they'll never be able to find you, and don't come out until it's safe. I know it's difficult, but you can't contact your families. Not now, not until it's safe." Peter added.

Many of the people standing before him nodded, some opened their mouths to argue, but words from others stopped them. And in groups of twos and threes they began to move through the woods.

Peter remained in his place, head down horrified and embarrassed that his brother's actions led to this. A small hand curled into his and he gently squeezed Claire's hand in reassurance. She nudged his shoulder causing him to look up at the group of people that remained in front of him.

Matt, Daphne, Hiro, Ando, Micah, Mohinder, and Tracy stood before him. Matt's eyes widened as he inadvertently listened to Peter's thoughts.

"Your brother is the cause of this?" He asked incredulously.

"Yes." Peter mumbled, dipping his head again so that his hair lightly fell across one eye. "He had files on us. He petitioned the president, told him we were all a danger and that we needed to be taken care of."

"What are you going to do?" Mohinder asked sagely.

"He has to be stopped." Peter answered with finality.

"We'll help you." Daphne said, stepping forward after sharing a glance with Matt.

"He's my brother. I'll take care of it." Peter argued.

"I'll help you." Claire said, grasping Peter's hand.

"No, you have to go somewhere safe. We'll find a way to contact Bennet; he'll know the best way to get you to safety."

"No Peter! I have to help you! Nathan may be your brother, but he's my father and if he's the cause of all this, then I'm going to be there to stop him." Claire argued.

Peter opened his mouth to continue his objections, but closed it, remembering his arguments with Claire about her safety only weeks before.

"Look we have to split up, a group as big as this, we can't blend in, people will be bound to notice us." He raked a hand through his hair. "The plane took off from upstate New York. We weren't in the air that long; we just have to figure out where we are."

"About 50 miles outside Baltimore." Micah answered confidently.

"How do you know?" Ando asked, looking at the boy.

"The plane told me. They were taking us to Texas, to a facility there." Micah replied.

"Okay, we'll split into three groups and make our way to the city. From there, buy new phones; pay as you go that way we can keep in touch." Peter said, pulling his phone from his pocket and ripping off the back case to pull out the battery before pulling the rest of the phone apart and throwing the pieces in different directions into the woods. "We'll need cars to travel, and as soon as we have those we have to get out of the city."

"We cannot do that Peter Petrelli." Hiro said morosely. "We do not have any money."

"I do." Peter answered, pulling out stacks of bills from his pockets. "I wasn't captured so I was able to bring this." He quickly divided the bills into three groups. "It isn't much, but it's a start."

"I can get more. From ATM's." Micah added.

"So you want us to split up now? How will we contact each other?" Tracy asked.

"If we stay close enough Peter and I can communicate." Matt answered after telling Peter his idea telepathically.

"And I can make the phones communicate with each other if Peter and Matt get separated too much. And once we're all set up, I can make them untraceable." Micah put in.

"Really?" Matt asked impressed. "That is good."

"So we'll make our way to the city, get the phones and a car, and then go where?"

"The Inner Harbor. There'll be people everywhere; we'll be able to blend in easily. We'll meet there in three days at one o'clock, exchange information and then move on again. We'll keep to big cities; we'll be less conspicuous there." Peter answered. "Stay away from the main roads; try to travel by night as much as possible."

The others nodded in agreement, before pairing off amongst themselves. Matt, Daphne, Hiro and Ando made one group, while the other consisted of Mohinder, Tracy, and Micah, leaving Peter and Claire on their own.

"So, how do we know which way to go?" Matt asked warily.

"We have to find a road." Micah answered. "Just for a few minutes." He added catching the others glance. "If I can find a traffic light, or a car with a GPS I can get an idea of where we are exactly and which way to go."

The others nodded in agreement and quickly followed Micah through the woods.

An hour later, the woods thinned out. The group ducked down as they moved between the trees trying to find something that could guide there way.

"Over there!" Claire urgently whispered, pulling at Peter's sleeve and pointing to the small diner up ahead. Four cars were parked outside of it, one separated from the others.

"What do you think?" Peter asked glancing back at Micah.

"They'll work." The boy answered moving forward to crouch next to Peter.

"Okay let's go then." Peter motioned for Micah to follow him, as they dashed across the road, keeping to the shadows as they made their way to the lone car. Micah held his hand against the front, and closed his eyes in concentration; he connected with the GPS in the car and asked for directions to Baltimore. A minute later he raised his head and smiled at Peter.

"Okay I have it, we can go." Peter nodded and the two made their way back to the others.

Micah quickly explained in an undertone the direction they would go to get to the city.

When he finished Peter looked around the group assembled in front of him.

Deciding quickly, he slipped the backpack he carried off his shoulders, dropped it on the ground and then knelt before it.

"I don't have much here, just some sweats and t-shirts, but it's enough to make you guys less conspicuous." He said pulling out 2 sweatpants and 4 T-shirts. He handed the sweatpants to Tracy and Matt. The t-shirts going to Daphne, Hiro, Ando, and Micah.

Mohinder deferred, unzipping the jumpsuit revealing his undershirt, and ripping it at the waist for a more natural look. The others did similar things with their articles of clothing, changing into or adjusting the jumpsuits for a less obvious look, at least until they were able to buy more clothing.

Once finished, Peter returned to his place at the front of their group.

"Okay we split up here. We'll make contact in 24 hours." The others nodded in agreement and clasped hands as one by one they slipped into the night.

Claire stood silently in the background watching everyone change and then silently leave the clearing. Once they were gone, Peter motioned for her to join him as he again rummaged through the backpack.

"I didn't have enough for everyone, I didn't really know what to expect, but here, for you." He said rummaging into the bag and pulling out a pair of Claire's jeans and a t-shirt.

"I know it isn't much, but it's a start." He said sheepishly, running a hand through his hair.

"Thank you." Claire murmured, tears glistening in her eyes at the thought of Peter taking the risk to go back to her room to get her a change of her own clothing.

Peter shrugged in response, unsure of what to say and gestured to a nearby tree that would offer Claire privacy to change, but would still be close enough should anything happen. He stood in the clearing staring unseeing at the sky, when he felt her presence back at his side.

"You ready?" Peter asked looking down at the blonde who waited quietly next to him.

"As I'll ever be."

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**Author's Note:** Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! Just one more week til Heroes is back!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

It took days for them to reach the city limits, moving only at night and staying off main roads, which made the trip longer then necessary. But as the sun rose over Baltimore two days after the plane crash, Peter and Claire were grateful to see the rising buildings in the distance.

"Any idea where the mall is?" Peter asked wirily looking towards the city.

"What makes you think I know?" Claire asked exasperatedly coming to stand at his side.

"Well you're the girl. Shouldn't stuff like that be ingrained? Like internal GPS, mall, due north two miles." Peter answered.

"Haha, who knew I was on the run with a comedian." She shot back.

Peter grinned down at her, before moving forward into the city. After walking through the city blocks for a few minutes they stumbled across a bus station. Peter looked through the directory, an anxious Claire pacing silently next to him. When he had their general direction in hand, Peter put his hand to the small of Claire's back as they began to walk down the city streets once again.

"How far?" Claire asked

"There's a shopping center about seven blocks away. That should have everything we need." He answered turning down another street.

When they reached the shopping center, Peter stopped at its entrance, making note of the different stores around them. He pointed out the bank and motioned to Claire.

"What are you going to do?" She hissed, tugging at his arm as he strode toward the bank.

"What Micah does."

"Are you sure?" Claire asked in an undertone. "I mean is this really the best place and time to try out a new power?"

"I'll be okay. Don't worry." Peter answered running a finger down her cheek.

They came towards the bank at an angle, hoping to miss its security camera. Peter motioned for Claire to stand off to the side, out of the camera's view as he stepped up to the ATM.

Apologizing under his breath, Peter laid his hand on the ATM's screen. He smiled as the denominations of money came up. A few minutes later his pockets were heavier with thousands of dollars taken from multiple accounts, and the security camera's memory of the last hour erased, with directions not to tape for another hour.

"Ready?" Claire asked coming to stand beside him when she saw his grin.

"Yea, let's go." Peter answered, taking her hand to lead her towards their next stop, the electronic store.

Inside, Peter and Claire browsed through the aisles trying to look inconspicuous as they zeroed in on the prepaid phones. Claire moved towards the phones, picking up a simple black phone and a prepaid card for 500 minutes and brought it to the counter.

"Is that all?" The clerk asked as she rang up the items.

"Yes that's it." Claire answered with an easy smile. Pulling out some of the money Peter had given her she quickly paid the bill and left with a quiet goodbye.

Peter met her at the entrance of the store and they quickly slipped outside. Spotting a payphone Peter activated their new phone and minutes and then offered it to Claire, who shook her head, before slipping it into his own pocket.

"What's next?" Claire asked, glancing around the shopping center.

"Clothes." Peter murmured moving in the direction of the department store. "Just necessities, a change of clothes, toiletries, and bags to carry them in."

Claire nodded in agreement as she and Peter walked through the store together, picking up the necessary articles. The quickly browsed through the aisles, throwing a pair of jeans each, some T-shirts, sweat pants, a jacket for Claire, socks, toothbrushes, a hairbrush, soap, travel size bottles of shampoo, and disposable razors. So focused was she on remaining unnoticed that Claire didn't even blush as she and Peter added underwear to their growing pile. They quickly picked up a second backpack for Claire, before sorting through their basket.

"Do you think that's everything?" Peter asked once they were finished.

"I think so, we pretty much thought of everything." Claire answered, leading the way towards the registers.

They paid and left the store, once again stopping at the edge of the shopping center. Out of sight of the other patrons and any other spying eyes, they ripped the tags off their newly bought clothes and quickly filled the two backpacks with their purchases. That finished, they moved away from the center and returned to the city blocks. They wandered through the city until they stumbled across a used car lot near the outskirts. The two slowly moved through the aisles of cars, noting years, mileage, and type before stopping when the see an older salesman moving towards them.

"Welcome folks. I'm Michael" The man said in greeting, holding out his hand to shake Peter's. Peter accepted the hand and watched intently as the man greeted Claire at his side.

"Your first car?" He asked noting the young look of the two people in front of him.

"As a couple." Claire answered with a vapid smile. She leaned against Peter with a granting him a loving smile, and gently caressed a hand across his chest. Peter stiffened and glanced down at the blonde in question. She shot him a quick look that thankfully went unnoticed by their audience and snuggled closer. "We just got married and it's our first car together." She explained, causing Peter to grin in understanding.

"That is a beautiful thing." Michael said with a large grin, knowing an easy sale when he saw one.

"There's just so many to choose from." Claire continued with a giggle. "Actually we eloped and _Brad_ had to sell his car to pay for our wedding, and it was such a _great_ car." She added conspiratorially, leaning up to kiss Peter lightly on the lips, leaving little to the salesman's imagination of what the two people before him liked to do in that great car.

"It's what first got her attention." Peter added, wrapping his arm low around her hips. "A mustang." He continued. "God I miss it."

"So we were hoping to find something similar. You know, a really fast car." Claire said flirtatiously, leaning closer to the salesman whose eyes quickly dropped to her chest, then shot back up to look at Peter nervously who leveled narrowed eyes at him.

"I have just what you're looking for." Michael said quickly, shooting a smile at Claire. He led them down the aisles and stopped in front of a four year old, 20,000 mile coupe.

"She has speed, little mileage, and is practically new." He said gesturing to the car. "A really great find."

Peter let go of Claire's waist to move around the car. "It sounds like a good deal." He said conversationally, as his mind delved into the other man's. Satisfied with what he heard he nodded.

"What do you think babe?" He asked motioning Claire over.

"I don't know, it's a little small in the back." She answered with a giggle and a twirl of her hair around her index finger.

"Well we can work around that." Peter answered with a leer. Claire giggled again and turned back to Michael. "We'll take it, if you drop it another five hundred."

"Well miss I think we have a deal."

* * *

An hour later Peter and Claire were driving away in their newly purchased car. Thankfully, Michael wasn't very fond of computers and gratefully agreed when Brad offered to type in the information for him. Claire gushed over their purchase and while Michael's attention focused on the young woman, Peter laid his hand over the keyboard, setting their car up with a fake name and registration.

"How's this?" Peter asked, rising from his seat, groaning inwardly as he had to pretend not to notice the way Michael had been eyeing Claire.

"Everything is in order." Michael said after quickly checking over the screen. "Thank you very much for your help Brad, it saved us a ton of time. These computers, can never get used to them."

Peter simply nodded slowly, glancing over at Claire when she stifled a giggle.

Again looking over the screen Michael smiled and held out his hand. "Brad, Sara it has been great doing business with you. Now you two enjoy newlywed life." He continued with a wink.

Claire giggled again and winked at the older man. "Oh don't worry, we will." She said biting the corner of her lip before pulling Peter's arms so they rested low on her hips then pulled him close so that his chest met her back as she turned swaying her hips to lead them out of the building.

With their cash supplies severely depleted after their purchases of the day, Peter and Claire drove out of town to find a cheap motel. Claire waited in the car while Peter went inside and paid cash for a room for the night. When he returned to the car and drove them around to the other side of the building, they silently pulled out their backpacks and then walked to the room where Peter pulled out the key and quietly opened the door. He closed it firmly behind them, locking both locks before dropping his bag onto the bed closest to the door.

Claire moved further into the room, placing her bag on the second bed and turning to eye her surroundings. Peter smiled at her kindly.

"You were amazing today." He said with amusement. "That guy was eating out of your hand."

"I know." She said smugly, then frowned. "It's horrible how everyone thinks blondes are stupid, superficial, promiscuous creatures. But, since it worked in our favor in this case, and got us a great car, I won't complain too much." She finished brightly.

Peter grinned at that, then flopped down crossways on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He heard Claire gracefully lie down on her bed, then turn to her side to prop her head on her hand and face him.

"What's going to happen?" She asked, finally sounding like the scared teenager she actually was.

"I don't know." Peter asked truthfully, positioning himself on his bed to face her. "But he has to be stopped Claire."

"I still can't believe he did this to us, that he's the reason they're hunting us." She said sadly. "I can't believe it's turned into this." She finished, wiping at her eyes before the welling tears had a chance to escape.

"We'll get through this Claire. I promise." Peter vowed, reaching his hand across the space between their beds to hold hers.

Claire grasped his hand tightly, then released it to turn onto her back.

"We're meeting at one o'clock tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"We should get some sleep while we can then." She said, kicking off her shoes, and curling under the covers.

"Good night Claire." Peter said, moving under his own blankets and turning off the lights.

"Night Peter." Came the muffled reply.

* * *

Fifteen minutes before one o'clock found Claire and Peter aimlessly strolling through the Inner Harbor. Browsing through shops, one eye always on the look out for one of their friends. Moving towards the far side, they finally spotted Micah and Matt near the ticket booth for the aquarium.

"Good you're here!" Micah said, holding out his hand. Peter smiled crookedly, and quickly handed over the cell phone to the boy. Micah worked on it silently, ignoring the gazes of the others as he set up the phone to his specifications.

"We stumbled across each other yesterday near a thrift store." Matt explained while Micah worked on the phone. "Mohinder and I went in to get changes of clothes before we let anyone else out into the open."

"Were you able to get everything you needed?"

"Yea. We split up after the thrift store. We four found a car on the west side, I think it's older than Molly, but it runs and it was cheap. Micah said they found a car on the west side."

"And everything's registered?"

"We are. Don't ask me how or why, but Daphne had a fake ID on her, which looks like the real thing." Matt answered.

"It's taken care of." Micah murmured from behind them handing Peter back his phone. "I registered our car under a fake name yesterday. Your phone's ready to go. Our numbers are in it and I set up each group with an e-mail address to communicate if we lose signal." He said nodding to himself. "Oh and everything is untraceable." He added as an afterthought.

"Where is everyone?" Claire asked pretending to casually glance around the area.

"Daphne, Mohinder, and Tracy are heading our way." Matt answered giving a small nod towards the trio making their way over.

The three offer quiet greetings as they come together, then merge into the crowd as a group.

"Hiro and Ando?" Peter asked looking for the two absent men.

"Browsing the shops in the second building and then moving in this direction. They're playing tourists. And listening to make sure no one has noticed us." Daphne answered gesturing to the long building on the other side of the harbor.

"So what's our next move?" Tracy asked.

Peter remained silent for a moment, picturing the eastern seaboard.

"Atlanta. It's a big city, we'll be able to blend in there." He answered. "Nathan wouldn't expect us to stay on the east coast. He'd think we'd go out west, try to get lost in the fields."

The others nodded in agreement.

"Okay, Atlanta it is." Matt said quietly. "We'll keep in touch by phone. Whoever gets there first can scout out the area, find closely situated motels we can stay in."

"Fine idea." Mohinder readily agreed.

"Take your time." Peter said, sending a longer message to Matt telepathically. Matt and Mohinder both nodded in understanding. The group quietly said their goodbyes, before breaking apart.

The group was so intent on their next meeting point that they did not notice the two figures in the distance keeping a careful watch.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Before leaving Baltimore, Peter stopped at a second ATM to pick up more money for their expenses, and then stopped at the first rest stop on I-95 to pick up a map. Instead of continuing on I-95 south, he took a turn off to head west.

Claire keeping an eye on the exits, perked up.

"Uh, Peter. Not that I mean to be a pain or anything, but aren't we going to Atlanta? And isn't that south of here?"

"It'll look suspicious if only ATMs between Baltimore and Atlanta are missing money. If they figure out what we're doing they'll track us straight there. This way, we can throw them off our tracks."

Claire blushed, feeling a little dumb and cleared her throat. "Ah, I see. Good idea."

They drove mostly in silence, for eight hours until they were well into the West Virginia border. Noting the time, Peter pulled off the highway when he saw a sign for a motel.

"You okay with stopping here tonight?" He asked Claire as they pulled into the small town.

"That's fine." She answered, sitting up straighter in her seat and arching her back to try to stretch in the cramped space.

Peter felt his eyes being drawn to Claire as she stretched and then quickly jerked them back to the road, a guilty flush creeping up his face. Claire glanced at him beneath her lashes, unable to help noticing how his arms flexed with each turn of the wheel.

Minutes later found them pulling into the shabby motel parking lot. Taking one look at the clientele standing outside, Peter gestured for Claire to stay in the car.

He walked inside; glancing back to make sure no one had taken notice of his pretty passenger, and requested a room. He returned to the car and pulled into a close space, before reaching back to pull out his and Claire's backpacks.

They climbed out of the car, Peter's hand resting protectively on the small of Claire's back as they walked into the front entrance of the motel. They easily found their room and slipped inside. Claire wrinkling her nose delicately at the sight and smell of the room before her.

Deciding that beggars cannot be choosers, she gently tossed her backpack on the further bed, leaving the one by the door for Peter, as she knew his over protectiveness would call for him taking the bed closest to an entrance point.

"We could find somewhere else to go." Peter suggested quietly, noting Claire's reaction to the room.

"It's fine. It's close to the highway, and I saw a bank on the way back." Claire answered quickly, giving him a small smile. "But thank you anyway."

Peter smiled in return, his eyes holding hers for a second too long, he broke the contact with a cough and turned his attention to the map.

"I'm thinking a roundabout route." He said opening the map fully on his bed. He sat down on the edge to look over it, and felt the bed give as Claire sat at his side. She leaned closer to peer down at the map and Peter's breath hitched slightly, at her warmth and her sweet smell being so close. He cleared his throat before continuing.

"We continue through West Virginia, and then cross into Kentucky, then Tennessee. We'll continue south west into Arkansas. Then head back east towards Atlanta."

"And we'll pull enough money to hold us up and through Arkansas." Claire stated.

Peter grinned at her insight. "That's the plan. Simple I know, but I hope if anyone is following or tracking us they'll think we're going to Texas, or further west and keep going that way, while we backtrack."

While Peter explained his reasoning, Claire unable to help herself leaned closer, ignoring all the warning bells in her head about 'he's her uncle', and enjoyed the scent that was simply Peter. She shivered gently, and blushed when Peter's gaze met hers.

"Are you cold?" He asked, drawing her closer to his side.

"A little." She lied.

That sat in silence for a little while, Claire cuddling closer to Peter's chest enjoying his smell and the feeling of safety she felt while in his arms.

"I think I should dye my hair." Claire suddenly stated, pulling back from Peter's chest to look into his eyes. "I mean it's conspicuous, brown might be better."

"No!" Peter blurted out, hating the idea of Claire changing anything about herself. Catching the questioning look in her eyes he scrambled to find the right words. "There are a lot of blondes out there Claire and they'd probably expect us to change our appearance. We might be able to fly under the radar without having to change how we look."

"Besides, blondes are more fun right?" He couldn't help but add, twirling a piece of her hair, unwilling to have anything about that gorgeous strand change. Claire's breath caught and her gaze shot to Peter's again. He immediately let go of her hair and pulled back, his gaze dropping. Claire frowned at the loss of contact.

"I'm sorry." Peter began. "That was inappropriate."

"Don't worry about it." Claire said shaking her head. She glanced at the man sitting next to her and without a second thought leaned closer and gently placed her lips against his. For a moment Peter's lips remained unmoving underneath hers, but that quickly changed as he responded, deepening their kiss. Claire reveled in the emotions that coursed through her as her and Peter's lips met over and over, but all too soon, Peter pulled away with a gasp and jumped off the bed.

"We can't do this Claire." He said, shaking his head furiously as if to dispel unwanted thoughts.

"I know." Claire responded quietly, moving to her own bed. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. If things were different…" He began. "It's just the craziness of all this, getting to us." He said running his hands through his hair in frustration.

"I should get changed." She finally said after a few moments of silence, gathering up her clothes and slipping past a silent Peter into the bathroom.

Peter readily in agreement with this safe plan, pulled out his own clothes to change into while Claire was in the bathroom. He was already in bed when Claire emerged and silently slipped into her bed.

They switched the lights off, both lying in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes.

"We should contact your father." Peter suddenly stated into the darkness. "You should go with him where it'd be safe."

"No." Claire answered severely, knowing that Peter was trying to not only keep her safe from the danger they were in, but also from himself. "He'll only worry and then get himself in trouble trying to protect me from anything and everything that could possibly happen."

"Claire he's already worried!" Peter argued, sitting up in the bed and swinging to the side to face Claire. "Noah has a hand in everything, he already knows that you were taken, and he probably already knows the plane crashed. So he must be going crazy wondering what happened to you between your capture and now."

"I will not put my family in danger. You said it yourself we can't go back, that we can't contact them." She answered, scooting to the edge of her bed to face him and flipping on a light.

"This is different and you know it. The phone's safe. Plus those other people's families just believe they're missing. Your dad probably believes you're dead."

"He knows me better than that." Claire contradicted. "And if we did call him, you and I both know that he'll come and get himself involved and given the way our luck has been going lately he'll probably get himself killed. I can't let that happen." She added softly, her eyes finally taking in the sight before her.

Peter sat silently, clothed only in sweatpants as he mulled over their argument. Claire blushed and directed her eyes to the wall behind his shoulder.

"Fine. We won't call him yet. But when we get to Atlanta, the first thing you're doing is calling Noah." He put up his hand as Claire opened her mouth to argue. "Just tell him you're alright, that's all I'm asking for Claire. I know I'd be dying if I knew you were taken and had no idea what happened to you after that crash."

Claire blushed again at his words and finally nodded her head in agreement.

"I'll call him when we get to Atlanta."

"That's all I ask." Peter returned, shifting to slide back into bed. "Good night Claire." He said softly reaching over to turn off the light.

"Night Peter." She responded quietly.

* * *

At five o'clock the alarm on the phone went off, jerking Claire out of a dream filled sleep. She blushed as she thought of the man who portrayed a large part in her dream, before slipping out of bed, grabbing her backpack and slipping into the bathroom for a shower.

Peter awoke to the sound of running water and rolled over to glance at the alarm clock on the center nightstand. He groaned when he saw the time, rolling back over to lie on his stomach, hoping the sounds of the water could lull him back to sleep before it was his turn to shower. But the more he tried to sleep, the more thoughts of Claire in the shower filled his head.

"She's your niece, you pervert. Your niece!" He said, clenching his fist and hoping that saying the words aloud would banish his thoughts of the young blonde woman in the shower only feet from where he was. It didn't work and Peter found himself peering thoughtfully towards the closed door that separated him from Claire. As he stared at the closed door, the shower abruptly turned off. Moments later Claire emerged from the steamy bathroom, clothed only in the white towel provided by the motel. Peter's eyes ran over her body greedily, starting at her calves, strong from years of cheerleading, moving up to her shapely thighs, past the towel and stopped where the towel was cinched tightly over her breasts. His body responded instantly and once he realized what he was doing, Peter's eyes shot to Claire's face, which revealed nothing, as she dried her hair with a small hand towel.

"Shower's free." She said with a small knowing smile.

Conscious of his predicament, Peter waited until Claire turned to the mirror over the dresser before bounding out of bed, grabbing his bag, and heading into the bathroom. As soon as Peter was out of the room, Claire finally released the smile she had been holding in when she caught him checking her out. She hummed softly to herself as she changed for the day, keeping one ear focused on the sound of the shower.

Within fifteen minutes Peter returned, freshly showered and shaved. But, to Claire's dismay he was already dressed, having decided to avoid another uncomfortable situation. They gathered up their clothes and bags, before returning to the car, another long day ahead.

* * *

As Peter and Claire pulled out of the motel's parking lot, a light colored sedan pulled out from behind the dumpster. After waiting a few minutes, it merged onto the road, only four cars behind them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

It was late when they finally reached Nashville. Peter rubbed his eyes tiredly as he pulled in front of the main office of the motel. He glanced to his right, where Claire was curled up tightly, her head leaning against the window and smiled. Not wanting to disturb her, he slipped out of the car silently and booked them a room. He then drove around to the other side of the motel, grabbed their bags, and before moving around the car. He opened the door slowly, catching Claire against his chest, as she leaned further over, and gently sat her in an upright position. He ran a finger across her cheek, smiling as she frowned softly and wrinkled her nose at the pressure.

"Hey." He said softly with a smile as her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey." She said back, stretching. Peter's eyes dropped to where her breasts strained against the material of her t-shirt, before hastily looking away and pretending to busy himself with their bags. "Where are we?" Claire asked taking in their surroundings.

"Nashville." He answered, holding out a hand for Claire as she got out of the car.

"Nashville huh? Too bad we're fugitives. It would've been nice to stop and sightsee." She said with a grin, before following Peter up to their room. He unlocked the door and flipped on a light switch before stopping short. He groaned inwardly at the sight before him, and then was pushed forward as Claire, who was right behind him, ran into his back and fell backwards, but before she could hit the floor, a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her upright.

"Thanks." She said with a blush, her hands dropping lightly onto Peter's arms. She peered at his face and raised a brow in question. "What's wrong?"

"They gave us the wrong room."

"What do you mean?" She asked peering around him. Noticing the large bed in the center of the room, realization dawned. "Oh I see."

"I'll just call and have our room switched." Peter said, releasing Claire and striding to the room's phone. Claire dumped her bag on the couch and aimlessly strolled through the room, only half paying attention to what Peter was saying over the phone. He hung up the phone and ran a frustrated hand through his hair.

"There's some festival going on. They're booked." He said exasperatedly. He looked towards the small couch and sighed. It was not going to be a good night for him. He hoped he could catch a couple hours of sleep tomorrow while Claire drove.

He moved towards the couch, moving Claire's bag to the floor and placed the pillows to one side. Claire watched him silently a frown forming on her face.

"What are you doing?" She finally asked.

"Going to sleep." Peter answered, tossing a look over his shoulder because really, wasn't it obvious what he was doing?

"Peter you can't sleep on that couch. You won't even fit." Claire argued, gesturing to the offending piece of furniture.

"I'll be fine."

"No you won't. Look it's a huge bed. We can share." Claire countered, her arm gesturing to the bed.

"Claire, we can't. It's not right."

"Don't worry Peter, I won't seduce you." Claire said with a sly smile. "This just makes sense. It's a big bed, we both need a good night's sleep, and we're both mature adults who can sleep in the same bed without any complications."

Peter grunted. 'I don't know about that.' He thought, looking towards the bed, images of how he could while away the many hours with Claire. He shook his head violently.

"Claire it isn't right. I'm your uncle."

"Peter what about this whole thing is right? We're on the run from your brother, my father that in of itself is so wrong to begin with! We've never had a normal relationship, family or otherwise." She burst out, starting to pace around the room. She finally stopped, took a deep breath and turned to look at Peter. "Look it's just sleeping. It's not like we're going to jump into bed and have sex. It's just the most practical arrangement. There's nothing wrong with us sleeping in the same bed."

Making sure she had the last word, Claire picked up her bag and slammed into the bathroom. Peter groaned at the torture ahead of him, but deciding that Claire had a point, he stripped down to his boxers and changed into a pair of sweatpants, before sliding beneath the bed sheets.

Moments later, Claire emerged from the bathroom, clothed in shorts and a tank top that they picked up on one of their stops, and crawled into the other side of the bed.

The two remained silent, shutting off the lights and going to sleep without a word to each other.

* * *

Claire woke slowly, her senses coming back to her one by one, as she took in her surroundings. She became aware of being curled against something hard, her left leg draped over a pair of lightly haired, muscled thighs, her hand was resting on a hard chest, and she was held immobile by an arm that had managed to wrap itself around her and whose hand was dangerously close to her ass.

She lifted her head to take in Peter's sleeping face, all the lines of worry gone from the peaceful expression as he slept. She smiled contentedly at the picture before her, running, her fingers over his lips before curling them over his hear and drifting back to sleep.

About an hour later the sun began to filter into the room, waking Peter from his deep sleep. He jumped at the feel of a body curled against his and looked down to find Claire inside the circle of his arms, her leg draped over his. He moved his left arm, blushing at where he found his hand located and gently separated his upper body from Claire.

He cursed at his body's reaction to her closeness and looked down at where their legs were intertwined, unsure of how to extract himself from this position without waking his bed partner. The loss of heat from his body pulled Claire from her sleep and she groggily looked up at him.

"What time is it?" She murmured, leaning over Peter's chest to peer at the clock. "Damn." She muttered, pulling back and returning to her position at his side. She raised her eyes to his, and their gazes locked in the silence of the early morning.

"We should probably get ready." Peter said, breaking their gaze.

"Yea." Claire answered, removing her leg from over his and rolling out of bed.

Peter kept the covers over his lap as he watched Claire move about the room, gathering up what she needed for her shower.

* * *

An hour later they were both showered and dressed. Both carefully avoided any mention of how they found themselves this morning. Claire gathered up their belongings and put them in their rightful place, while Peter spread out the map over the bed.

"So today we're crossing into Arkansas?" Claire asked, dropping down to sit on the edge of the bed next to him. "Down to Little Rock?" She continued, leaning closer against him, so that Peter could smell the sweetness of her skin.

"Yea, then we'll back track to Memphis and pick up the highway into Mississippi." He answered, his gaze drawn down to where the v-neck of her shirt gave just a hint of her cleavage. He gulped and pulled back slightly. Claire looked up at Peter, his muscles flexing with each movement, and without giving herself the chance to wimp out, she reached up so one of her hands clasped the back of Peter's neck. She pulled him down so that his lips met hers, her teeth nipping lightly at his lower lip. Peter instantly responded, gasping against her mouth, his tongue darting out and skimming against her lips, requesting entrance. Claire eagerly gave it to him, parting her lips, and moaning low in her throat as Peter's tongue traced the inside of her mouth and then danced with hers.

With a gasp, Peter pulled back, his arms outstretched to hold Claire at arms length.

"Claire." He gasped. "We can't do this."

"Yes we can." She murmured, leaning forward so her lips met his again. One hand played with Peter's hair, while the other reached up to where his hands still clasped her shoulders. She pulled one loose, smiling against his lips as he easily let go and moved it down so his hand molded against her breast. Claire moaned deeply and arched so his hand pressed harder against her.

Unthinking, Peter gently pushed Claire down, so she lay across the bed, and moved over her, his lips never breaking contact with hers, as he gently kneaded her breast. Claire moaned again as Peter's weight settled above her, loving the contact. His lips left hers to trail down her neck, nibbling gently as he went. His second hand fell from her shoulder, to move down her body in a gently caress until he reached the hem of her t-shirt. He gently pulled the shirt up over her stomach, his lips trailing closely behind, to expose her bra-clad breasts. He gently moved the straps over her shoulders and down her arms to free her breasts from the lacy material. He grinned wolfishly before swooping down to take one aroused peak into his mouth.

Claire moaned loudly, unable to help herself, her fingers clenching his hair to hold him closer against her. She parted her legs, wrapping them tightly around his hips, bringing the hardness of his arousal right where she wanted it. She arched into his mouth bringing their lower bodies closer together and he moved to her other breast, his handing reaching up to give attention to the abandoned peak. She arched again, delighting at the low groan that ripped from his throat as their lower bodies connected again. She grasped the edge of his shirt and pulled it up so she could place biting kisses along his abs and chest, delighting at how his abs tightened in response to her ministrations. She reached down to where he strained against the zipper of his jeans, and grasped him gently. She reached to the button of his jeans, stretching her arms to pop it open, when Peter's arm grabbed hers.

He pulled back from her, their upper bodies separated, causing Claire to moan lowly at the loss of contact. Peter stared at her with wide eyes, taking in the half naked young woman beneath him.

Peter quickly scrambled off Claire, pulling his shirt and pants into place, turning, as Claire sat up and set her clothes to rights behind him.

When the sound of her rustling behind him ceased, Peter turned to face his niece, staring at her for a long moment.

"This was a mistake. It can never happen again." He finally said. "You're my niece, the amount of levels it's wrong on, I can't even begin to describe."

Claire got up from the bed, and moved to stand before him. She reached up to place a hand on his chest, over his rapidly beating heart.

"It isn't wrong. What is an uncle anyway? You didn't know me when I was little. You didn't watch me grow up. You don't feel like an uncle, you don't feel like any kind of relative to me. You're my friend, my hero, that's the only feeling I have for you that matters to me. Nothing else."

"But we _are_ related. This can't happen."

"Why not?" She asked, pressing forward as he took a step back. "Tell me honestly, do you truly think of me as your niece? Is that all I am to you? Or am I more?"

"Of course you're more to me than that Claire. But you can't be, it isn't right."

"Who's to say what's right anyway? Why can't this be right? The world is so wrong right now; maybe this is the only thing that is right!" Claire cried, running her hand angrily through her hair.

_We should be together._ Her words trailed sadly through her mind, causing Peter to flinch at the heartache he heard there.

"Claire this can never be right." Peter argued softly, closing his eyes at the pain he saw in her eyes, pain that mirrored the pain in his heart. "Come on, we have to get going."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey guys. Sorry for the slow update, school is already on the go and I just haven't had any time to write. But hopefully with Heroes back tomorrow the muse will hit and I won't be able to stop. So anyway please leave reviews because I love to hear them and they keep me going!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

With their roundabout route, it took Peter and Claire five days to reach Atlanta. Neither mentioned their interlude in Nashville, Peter stubbornly refusing to talk about it anytime Claire tried to bring it up. They made the rest of the trip mostly in an uncomfortable silence, only speaking when one wanted to stop, or one was making a phone call to the others.

Night had just fallen when they reached the city limits of Atlanta. Claire, who was driving, stopped in the first marketplace she found and waited while Peter called to find out where the others were.

Not having taken the route Peter and Claire decided on, the others arrived in Atlanta two days before. Peter got into contact with Matt, who directed them to a nearby town that had multiple motels in close vicinity to each other.

Once inside their room, Claire dropped her bag on the furthest bed, sitting on its edge, her hair draped in her eyes as she shot a glance at Peter. She caught his barely contained sigh of relief as he tossed his bag on the other bed. He reached into his pocket and tossed a small object to Claire.

"Wow, you were serious about calling as soon as we got to Atlanta weren't you." Claire stated dryly, easily catching the phone and flipping it open. "What should I say?"

"Just tell him you're okay. And anything else you want him to know."

"Should I tell him about Nathan?"

"No." Peter answered fiercely. "He's my problem."

Claire shot him a look, but decided that arguing with him over Nathan right now wasn't worth it, and prepared herself to call Noah.

She silently dialed his number, while Peter turned on the TV and set the volume low to give her some privacy.

The phone rang twice before it was picked up.

"Dad?" Claire asked tentatively when her father's familiar voice answered the phone. "It's me."

"Claire bear?" Noah asked clutching his phone tightly. "Where are you? What happened?"

"The plane crashed. But Peter got me out before it went down."

"Where are you? I'm coming to get you."

"No dad." Claire stated. "You can't come get me. You can't be involved."

"I am your father. I will sure as hell be involved. Your mother is frantic."

"You don't understand!" Claire cried out, causing Peter's eyes to meet hers. "They're hunting us. All of us with abilities. I can't go home and put you all in danger. Tell mom I'm fine, that we have to fix this before I can come home."

Peter's eyes shifted back to the TV as Claire continued to talk to her father.

"Claire you're too young to be involved in this. You don't understand what has to be done."

"I do understand dad." Claire said softly.

"Are you with Peter?" Noah asked.

"Yes."

"Put Peter on the phone." He stated.

"He wants to talk to you." Claire said, moving to hand the phone to Peter. He took it without words, as Claire moved to sit on the bed beside him.

"Do you know what your bother is doing?" Noah asked without preamble.

"I found out just before Claire was taken." Peter answered.

"And you're willing to do whatever it takes to fix this?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure? Even if it means killing your own brother? Are you prepared to do that?"

"If I have to."

"There is no 'if' here. To make this stop Nathan needs to be removed, those files need to be destroyed, _everything_ has to disappear. I don't think you're ready for that."

"I am ready. He's my brother and I will do what I think is necessary to stop this."

"You will do what is necessary to protect my daughter. And the only thing that will achieve that is Nathan out of the picture. Do you understand?"

"I do." Peter answered with a sigh.

"Tell me where you are. I will take Claire someplace safe until this is over and she can come home."

"I can't do that."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because it's what Claire wants." Peter answered, meeting Claire's questioning eyes.

"She doesn't know what she wants! She has no idea what the next few weeks will bring, no stability, separated from her family. She is not ready for that!"

"I think she is. She says she knows what needs to be done, and she refuses to listen to anything otherwise." Claire moved closer on the bed, as Peter shifted the phone so she could listen in to the conversation.

"She thinks that she can save the world with her abilities. She has no idea what stopping this will entail."

"I think she does." Peter said.

Noah cursed on the other line, and rubbed his eyes in frustration. Knowing he was fighting a losing battle he finally sighed.

"If I'm to leave Claire in your care Peter, you better do whatever it takes to protect my daughter do you understand me?"

"I do."

"Good. I want to be contacted every three days and kept informed of what you're planning."

"I will."

"Let me talk to Claire."

Peter passed the phone back to Claire, who took it and returned to her bed.

"Dad?" She asked.

"You're sure you want to stay with Peter? You're both fugitives now. You'll have to stay in hiding."

"I know."

"Be careful Claire bear. Stay safe."

"I will dad. I love you."

"I love you too. I'll talk to you in a few days."

Claire hung up the phone silently, and then looked to Peter who had wandered to the room's desk and was browsing through the pamphlets there.

"Look at this." He said, turning to hand one of the brochures to Claire.

"The botanical gardens?" She asked skeptically.

"We can all meet there. It wouldn't look strange for a group of people to be touring the gardens together."

"It should work." Claire agreed, turning the brochure in her hand to browse it.

* * *

At eleven o'clock the next morning nine of the fugitives met together inside the peacefulness of the botanical gardens. They slowly walked through the different paths, pretending to admire the colorful array of plants, as they murmured plans to each other.

"I think we should stay here for awhile." Peter said quietly walking in between Claire and Mohinder. Matt trailed just behind, listening to Peter's thoughts telepathically as he passed on the information to Daphne.

"It is a large city. We will be less noticeable." Mohinder agreed.

"We're close enough to New York and D.C. We can be there within a day." Claire added.

"We'll have to find more permanent places to stay." Matt said from behind them. "Four adults in the same hotel room will look strange very quickly."

'Or kinky.' Claire thought, then blushed when Peter's wide eyes turned to her. Thankfully Matt was too busy talking to Daphne to pick up the stray thought, as Peter cleared his throat before speaking.

"Claire and I gathered up enough money to hold us all for awhile."

"Micah was able to take money from ATM's around the country, they won't be able to track us through that." Mohinder said, causing Peter to glance back at the boy in awe.

"I didn't think to try that. Very good."

"So we look for apartments here?" Daphne asked.

"Yea." Peter answered glancing back at her. "We'll stay in these groups for now and see what we can find."

"Couldn't we just erase the files?" Ando asked suddenly. "You and Micah can talk to computers. Why not tell them to erase the files?"

"Because with an operation like this they'd keep a hard copy of everything." Tracy put in. "And they know of Micah's ability, so they'd be prepared for him to try to erase everything."

They talked for a few minutes longer, before everyone drifted back to their cars prepared to start the search for more permanent hiding places.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you for all of the reviews! Apparently Claire and Peter getting busy brings out all the reviews. And as a thank you, I decided to post this chapter as soon as I could, so thank you again. Keep the reviews coming and hopefully I'll be back soon with a new chapter.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

"So husband and wife or boyfriend and girlfriend?" Claire asked, the next morning, as she came out of the bathroom and leaned against the doorframe.

"What?" Peter sputtered, trying to ignore the sight Claire so willingly offered of herself draped in the motel towel.

"What should we be? A married couple or a dating couple looking for their first place?"

"How about relatives?" Peter asked testily.

"No." Claire said breezily, waving a hand through the air. "That wouldn't work." She moved to sit on Peter's bed, causing him to tense. "No relatives would rent a one bedroom apartment together. No one would believe us." She continued leaning closer. "They would just think we were having some sordid love affair. Or maybe that I'm your mistress and you want to keep me close, but we have to stay hidden from your wife." She added leaning closer and running a hand across his bare chest. Peter closed his eyes as she placed a feather light kiss on one of his pecs, her hand moving down to skim across his abs.

"Claire. No." Peter said after a moment's hesitation, gently, but firmly returning her hand to her lap.

_Why are you fighting this?_ She thought.

"You're my niece." He answered, not bothering to hide the fact that he was reading her mind. Claire decided not to comment on his invasion of her privacy, because truthfully she wanted him to know how she felt and that whatever connection they had was because of them and had nothing to do with who her bio-dad was.

"It doesn't matter!" She groaned, flopping down on the bed, as Peter jumped up and moved to stand in front of the bathroom.

"It does. You may not think it matters now, but when reality sets in, when you realize how unnatural it is for us to feel this way, then you'll regret it. And you'll come to hate that you can't tell your friends about us, that no one could ever know how we feel."

"I don't care about any of that. Who's going to care about how we feel about each other? Nathan? His opinion doesn't count. It never did."

"How about Noah, or anyone else that we know? I don't want you involved in something that you'll become ashamed of."

"The only one who's ashamed about this is you." Claire grumbled.

"Claire if things could be different." Peter began. "I wish things were different." He finished softly just before ducking into the bathroom to shower.

* * *

"The rent is $850 a month and furnished, which is a steal in this area of the city." The realtor said as she gestured for Peter and Claire to follow her into the apartment. "The kitchen was just refinished three years ago, and the carpets were replaced last year."

Claire passed Peter to inspect the kitchen and living room. "There's a lot of space here." She commented, sharing a glance with Peter.

The realtor nodded enthusiastically, hoping that this apartment, their third of the day would attract the attention of this young couple. "The bathroom is also a nice size, it's just through the bedroom." She said, indicating the door down the hall. Claire moved down the hallway, Peter trailing after her as she inspected the bedroom and bathroom.

"So what do you think?" She asked, knowing he'd been reading her thoughts of the apartment.

"I think it's good. The living room is large enough to hold meetings here." He said absently, glancing around the room, his gaze stopping for a moment on the bed that sat in the middle of the room. "The furniture in there looked comfortable too."

Claire groaned, knowing that it would be a battle to get Peter out of the living room and into the bedroom.

"I didn't look that good to me. A little too worn in to be really comfortable."

"It'll be fine." Peter said, moving from the room to go and speak to the realtor.

"So? What do you think?" She asked cautiously, taking in the quiet young man before her. Her eyes shifted to the young blonde woman who sidled up next to him, intertwining her fingers with his.

"What do you think baby? Should we take it?" Claire asked sweetly, gazing up at Peter adoringly, easily falling into the role of the younger loving girlfriend.

"If it's what you want sweetheart." He answered, smiling down at her. "We'll take it." He said to the realtor once he tore his eyes from Claire's.

The woman smiled in understanding, slightly jealous that such a gorgeous, serious man was already taken. But it was quite obvious to her that he was utterly infatuated with the young woman before her.

She quickly pulled out the paperwork, and watched beneath her lashes as the two people before her stood closely together as the man filled out the application and rental agreement. Within minutes they both signed and passed the paperwork back to her.

"So we're all set then?" Claire asked. "Month to month?"

"That's correct. The lease is month to month with the option to extend for a longer time frame." The realtor answered.

"Thank you again for all of your help." Peter said quietly, shaking hands with the realtor after she handed him the keys. He and Claire followed her out of the apartment, making sure she was gone, before they moved to their car and pulled their backpacks out and brought them upstairs.

Claire quickly moved into the bedroom, dropped her bag on the floor and threw herself onto the bed with a heaving sigh of relief.

Peter grinned crookedly as he stopped in the doorway to the bedroom to watch the blonde before him. Claire giggled quietly to herself, causing Peter to cock an eyebrow in question.

"What's so funny?"

"We don't have to stay in a stinky motel anymore! I mean this is insane, we're fugitives, we should really be in Europe by now, not playing house here in Atlanta, but I am _so_ happy that tonight, I get to sleep in a bed, that I know where the sheets came from, and tomorrow and the next night."

Peter laughed, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, as Claire pulled herself into a kneeling position just behind him.

"Speaking of sheets, I take it a run to the store is in order."

"That would be nice. I don't really know where this mattress has been." Claire said coyly, leaning closer so as she spoke, her breath whispered over Peter's skin. Peter couldn't prevent the tremble that went through his body, as he waited silently for Claire's next move. But the blonde surprised him. Instead of taking her actions a step forward, she bounded off the bed and danced to where their bags lay on the floor. Peter's mouth opened and closed a few times before he was able to find the right words.

"What, what are you doing?" He asked, watching as Claire danced around the room, placing their bags on the bed.

"Getting ready."

"For what?"

"Shopping of course. If this is going to be fugitives' headquarters, we need to be prepared."

* * *

A few hours later, Peter and Claire returned to their new apartment laden with bags from a local discount store. Claire eagerly moved into the bedroom, stripping the bed and putting on new sheets, then moved on to the closet to hang up their clothes. Peter stayed safely in the kitchen, putting groceries into the refrigerator smiling as he listened to Claire humming from the other room, amazed at her ability to adapt to this so well. Hearing the bathroom door shut, he pulled the cell phone out of his pocket to call Matt.

"We found an apartment." He said as soon as the other line was picked up. "Any luck yet?"

"We're narrowed it down to two." Matt answered. "Mohinder's having a little more trouble. Apparently Tracy is very picky about her living situation. Especially if it is going to be semi-permanent."

Peter grinned, imagining the scientist's irritation of having to deal with something, in this case the condition of their residence, as unimportant.

"We're right off of 5th street." Peter said

"Really? One of the places we were looking at is right near there. I'll talk to the others later."

"How's Claire handling everything?" Matt asked suddenly.

Peter started, looking at the phone as if it could tell him exactly what Matt was getting to.

"She's good. Glad to be settled somewhere for the time being."

"I can understand that. Everyone's getting antsy over here."

Hearing the bathroom door open, Peter said. "Matt I don't mean to cut you off, but I should give the phone to Claire. Let her dad know she's in one place for the moment."

Matt readily agreed, telling Peter he'd call as soon as he knew what his group planned.

"Who were you talking to?" Claire asked, coming up behind Peter.

"Matt." He answered, snapping the phone shut lightly.

"Any luck yet?"

"No, they narrowed it down to two places, one is only a few blocks away, so I think he's going to try to get that one."

"That's good." Claire said, glancing around the kitchen. Sensing Peter's gaze on her, she returned her eyes to his and smiled in question. "What?"

Peter held the phone out to her. "You should give your dad another call. Let him know you're settled at least."

Claire nodded in agreement, taking the phone from Peter and calling her dad while she moved around the apartment to gather up trash from their purchases.

* * *

An hour later Claire walked out onto the street, a trash bag gripped tightly in her hand as she made her way to the dumpster. Within moments Peter emerged from the apartment, worriedly glancing down both sides of the street, before his gaze alighted on Claire. He breathed an obvious sigh of relief, before moving to take the bag from her and help heave it into the trashcan. He dropped his hand to the small of her back to guide her back inside the apartment building, glancing down both sides of the street before slipping inside.

"We've found them sir." A man spoke into a phone from inside a car that was parked in an alley across the street from the apartment.

"Where?" The voice on the other line asked.

"Atlanta."

"Really?" Nathan asked, rubbing his chin. "They didn't go very far did they?"

"No sir." The man answered. "We almost lost them after they left Maryland. We thought they were headed west to Texas."

"Well then it's a good thing you managed to find them." Nathan sneered.

"Yes sir." The man answered sitting up straighter in his seat. "We have them now. What would you like us to do?"

"Nothing." Nathan said severely.

"Sir?" The man questioned.

"You heard me! I said nothing. You will do nothing until I give the order do you understand? Your job is to watch them and report back to me, is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good." Nathan said, hanging up the phone. "What are you doing Peter?" He asked out loud to the empty room.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you guys so much for all of the reviews! And never fear, Peter won't be able to sit still while Nathan is still running the project for much longer.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Three days after Peter and Claire settled into their apartment, the others who went on the run with them found places of their own and settled in for the time being.

"It's a little small." Tracy said of the apartment with shared with Mohinder and Micah. "Not the cleanest, but I guess beggars can't be choosers."

Mohinder rolled his eyes in exasperation from behind Tracy and Claire stifled a giggle.

"It's not that I don't understand that we're fugitives, but that doesn't not mean we need to live in a hovel." Tracy continued and Claire simply nodded her head, unsure of how to reply.

Micah simply smiled from his place on the floor where he was working on a laptop that Mohinder found at a pawn shop near by.

Claire glanced over her shoulder at Peter and Matt who were quietly talking near the kitchen doorway. Her gaze caught Peter's attention, who quirked at eyebrow at her in question. Claire raised one back, and with a grin, Peter and Matt returned to the rest of the group. After he settled down next to her, Claire turned her attention to Peter.

"So what were you two talking about?" She asked.

"Strategy." Peter answered simply. "As of right now, we have no idea how big this thing is. I mean the government is involved for sure, but we don't know how much funding they have, and what they mean to do with it."

"You mean other then hunt us down, stick us on a transport plane, and do god only knows what with us once we get there?" Daphne asked sardonically.

"I'm more concerned with the 'what are they going to do now that they know we've escaped'." Peter said quietly. "If this thing is as large as we think it is…" He began.

"They'll never stop hunting us." Tracy jumped in. "The amount of money and time it takes to set something like this up. They'll have the funds they need to hunt us down. Keeping us quiet and contained, they'll stop at nothing to achieve that."

"Then we stay here. Beneath the radar." Ando said. Hiro nodded energetically in agreement.

"It's not that simple." Matt said. "We can't keep living off of stolen ATM money. And a city is an expensive place to live. We'll have to move soon. Go someplace deeper, where they won't begin to look."

"We'll leave the country." Tracy said. "No matter how much funding this program has, they won't be able to justify following us all over the world."

"We can go someplace where they don't have _extradition_ laws." Daphne said. "We'll get fake passports, money and then leave. As soon as possible."

"With our combined powers we can get the money from any bank. And if they figure out it was us, it doesn't matter, because we'll be out of the country anyway." Tracy said.

"No." Peter replied shaking his head. "We're not robbing a bank. Something that huge, what we'd need to do to pull it off that would get their attention."

The group debated different options that they had before them for the next few hours, finally agreeing to stay put for the time being, before they slowly began to trickle out of the apartment to return to their own homes.

Claire was cleaning up the plates, silently moving around the room, a trash bag in hand. Peter sat quietly on the couch, deep in thought.

"With all that planning, I never heard you once mention stopping Nathan." Claire finally said, leaning against the chair.

"Nathan is my problem. Nobody else's."

"Peter you can't stop him by yourself."

"Yes I can. I have his ability, Mohinder's, your's, Matt's. I have more then enough to stop him."

"Is that really all you need to stop him? Powers?" She asked. "Do you really believe that?" She continued gently.

Peter opened his mouth to reply to her when the door to their apartment crashed against the wall. Peter jumped to his feet, tackled Claire and threw them both to the ground as tranquilizer darts whizzed over their heads.

"How did they find us?" Claire cried out, scrambling out from under Peter and taking cover behind an overturned chair. She peeked over the arm and sighed. "It would've been really nice if you could still teleport right about now."

Peter couldn't help the grin that crossed his face as he planned his next move.

"The first chance you get, go into the bedroom and out the window. Get to Parkman." Not giving Claire a chance to argue, he shoved her out of harm's way, lifted the chair, and threw it across the room to where the masked men were filing in.

Two men in suits held back, eyes wide as the chair flew past them.

Claire shot to her feet, only to be slammed back as a dart shot into her chest. She yanked it out, shaking her head to clear the effects of the drug as she moved forward. A pair of arms closed around her waist and she felt herself being pulled backward.

"I don't think so." She ground out, stomping her foot down as hard as she could on the man's instep. With a grunt of pain he released her and Claire turned, reaching out for his shoulders to pull him closer as she kneed him in the groin. As the man dropped to the ground, Claire turned to gage how Peter was fairing. Considering the number of men currently crashing into the furniture around her, she figured he was fine.

Peter made his way towards the door. He heard the man's thoughts a moment before the shot rang out. He felt the pain as the dart hit him in the side, causing him to drop to a knee. Claire's scream rang out from behind him, and he turned to see her fighting her way through the few standing men to reach his side. He saw his shooter move closer, as soon as the man was in range; Peter reached up and tore the gun from his hands. He pulled himself to his feet, yanking out the dart and grabbed the man by his collar.

"Who sent you?" He yelled. The man said nothing, only his eyes showed his fear. Peter listened silently for a moment then dropped the man to the ground.

"Where'd they go?" He asked glancing around the room.

"Who?" Claire asked breathlessly, coming to stand at his side.

"The two men in suits!"

"I didn't see anyone in suits." Claire answered glancing around.

"I thought I told you to leave." He said in exasperation.

"You might've needed my help." Claire answered with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Claire." He said with a sigh. "Come on. It's not safe here anymore." He said, holding out a hand to Claire. She eagerly placed her hand in his, smiling as Peter gently squeezed it. Peter glanced around the war zone that used to be their apartment, before leading the way out the door. They walked quickly down the hall, glancing in each direction as they made their way to the fire escape. Peter released Claire's hand to pull open the window, gesturing for her to hold back as he slipped out onto the fire escape. Seeing no one in the area, he nodded and Claire climbed out onto the metal stand. Before she could say a word, a shot rang out into the silent night, and Peter fell backwards against the railing.

Claire screamed his name, lurching forward to stop Peter from going over the railing. A heavy pressure tore through Claire's shoulder as a bullet struck her and Claire's head shot up, catching a glimpse of two men in suits. She saw the gun in one of the men's hands and threw herself back against the wall as another shot rang out. The bullet quickly popped out of her shoulder as she pressed herself closer to the brick, listening to the low murmurs of the men above them. Hearing the shift of metal above her, Claire glanced up and saw the two men climbing back inside the building. Taking her chance, she rushed out of her hiding place and pulled the barely conscious Peter up. She slung his arm over her shoulder, grimacing as his weight fell against her. She half dragged Peter to the edge of the fire escape and stood on the top rung.

"Hold on to me." She directed Peter, shaking him to get his attention. He silently complied, his arms slipping lightly around her hips. "Hold on tight." She continued, feeling his arms strengthen around her waist. Her own arms reached down to hold the edges of the ladder. "This had better work." She muttered, just before lifting her foot and slamming it down on the fire escape's release. She gasped at the sudden drop as the ladder released, losing her grip when it jolted to a stop, sending her and Peter sprawling to the ground.

Claire jumped quickly to her feet, glancing up to where she last saw the two men. Seeing the empty area, she pulled Peter up and hurriedly moved down the alley. Peter's strength was slowly returning, his ability to heal, having been hindered by the dart. He groaned at the pain in his side where the bullet was still lodged, but gaining more awareness of his surroundings, he hurried at Claire's side without comment. They quickly moved through the alleyways, until they stumbled across an abandoned building. Seeing an opening in the plywood that covered the doors and windows, Claire released Peter. She moved closer to the building, glancing around her before turning to Peter.

"Are you able to give me a boost up?" She questioned, noting his pale skin. Peter nodded silently, and moved to stand behind her. Claire gasped lightly as Peter's hands closed around her waist and he lifted her so she could scramble through the window, with Peter following a moment later. Once inside, he sprawled on the ground, coughing lightly.

Claire crawled to his side, closing her eyes for a moment at the sight of his blood-stained shirt.

"You're bleeding. Why are you bleeding?" She asked, slowly peeling his shirt away from the wound. "You're not healing." She cried out.

"The darts." Peter said quietly. "They can immobilize us, and apparently, our abilities. It was only in me for a second, but whatever chemical they used must not be fully out of my system yet." He answered, leaning up on his elbows to peer down at the wound.

"God Peter, when you almost went over." Claire started, her eyes glistening with unshed tears.

Peter leaned forward and placed a finger over her lips. "I'm fine." He said.

Claire placed one of her hands over his, and placed a kiss in his palm.

"I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you." She continued, her next words were cut off, as Peter leaned closer and covered her lips with his own. Claire eagerly returned his kiss, her lips parting beneath his easily. She moaned low in her throat as Peter deepened their kiss. She sighed as Peter's hand skimmed passed the side of her breast and along her torso, to lightly clasp her hip. She reached up a hand to tangle in his hair, and hold him close as she nibbled lightly against his lower lip. Peter's tongue slowly traced the inside of her mouth, as if trying to memorize every facet of it. He broke the seal of their lips, to trail his mouth along her neck and collarbone. Reaching the bloodstained shirt, he growled low in his throat, before nuzzling underneath the fabric to place a soft kiss against the smooth skin where the bullet had been. Claire moaned, pulling on Peter's hair until his lips returned to hers. An eternity passed before the need for air grew so strong that the two slowly broke apart.

"I'm fine." Peter said quietly, once he caught his breath. As if to further prove his words, with a metallic sounding ping, the bullet popped out of Peter's newly healed side. "See?" He continued with a crooked grin.

* * *

Outside of Peter and Claire's now former apartment, the two men in suits returned to their car.

"You have to call him." The first said. "He told us not to move until he made the call."

"They were all together, it was the perfect opportunity." The second argued.

"Except now they know we're here and we've managed to lose them."

"I know." The second man sighed dreading what needed to be done. "I'll call him."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Reviews! Thank you guys so much for all the reviews! I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. Now for some info. Even though it seems that "Heroes" is only giving Peter one power at a time, my Peter has his original ability, so he has powers of everyone he's in contact with. Also, it might be awhile before the next update, and i apologize in advance, but I have some exams and papers going up in the next few weeks so it be some time before I can get the next chapter finished.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:** So given the bad news we Paire and Halo fans have recieved this week, I decided to post this chapter early. Just a warning this chapter is where the 'M' rating comes in, so be prepared for that. Either way, hope you guys enjoy!

**

* * *

**

Chapter Ten

They stayed inside the warehouse for hours, waiting for the darkest part of the night to hide their exit. It was around two in the morning, when Peter peeked outside the warehouse's window, making sure the alley was clear. Not seeing any sign of life, he slipped out of the window and landed safely onto the ground below. Claire closely followed behind, perching on the edge of the window sill, before dropping lightly into Peter's arms.

Peter held Claire in his arms a moment too long, and her eyes met his in question, Peter just leaned down and kissed her deeply, before releasing her. Claire smiled when Peter turned his back, slipping her hand into his outstretched one as they made their way down the alley.

"What was that for?" Claire asked. When Peter stopped, she cursed herself, wishing she could take the words back, before Peter had the chance to think too much into his actions.

"Just because." Peter surprisingly answered, tossing her a smirk, as he continued down the deserted street.

"Really?" Claire asked, ignoring the logical side of her that begged her not to press the issue.

"Really." Peter answered. "You're right, you know? The world is so screwed up right now, who would begrudge us happiness. I don't see you as my niece, I never did, you always meant more to me than that."

Claire smiled and squeezed Peter's hand. They moved quickly down the street, making their way back to their apartment.

"Stay here." He answered cryptically, pulling Claire aside to the small alley next to their building. "I'll be right back." He continued, before using Daphne's speed to dart into their apartment and down to the car. Only seconds passed before Peter jumped into their car and drove back to pick up Claire.

"So where are we going?" Claire asked after settling into her seat.

"New York." Peter answered, pulling the car out onto the empty street.

* * *

After two days of driving, Peter and Claire arrived in New York. They abandoned the car at the Port Authority, before striking out on foot through the city. The easily blended into the crowd of workers, hurrying their way through the busy streets.

"Peter, are you sure this is a good idea?" Claire asked, walking alongside Peter as they ducked down another street that led to his apartment. "They could have surveillance on your apartment."

"They figure we'd know that they'd have surveillance on my apartment, so they'd think it would be the last place we would go." He answered confidently. "Which is exactly why we're going there."

"If this thing is as big as Tracy believes, they probably have the resources to still have your apartment watched, even if they believe it's unlikely that you'd go back."

Peter kept silent, moving quickly down the block as his apartment building came into view. He hurried up the steps, and held the door for Claire, before following her inside. They remained silent each lost in their own thoughts until they reached the relative safety of Peter's apartment.

"I still don't think this is a good idea. We could have easily stayed in a motel."

"We'll be fine here." Peter answered, before moving to peer out the window that overlooked the street. Nodding at what he saw there, he moved back to the living room, where Claire sat uneasily on the edge of his couch.

* * *

A dark sedan with tinted windows sat silent down the street from the apartment.

The lone man inside lifted his cell phone and quickly dialed.

"Sir." He said when the call was answered. "He just arrived."

"Really?" Nathan answered, spinning his chair around to peer out his window. "Stay where you are, I'll be there in the morning."

* * *

"Peter I have a really bad feeling about this." Claire said, coming to her feet when Peter turned from the window. "We shouldn't be here. We can contact my dad, go deeper into hiding." She continued.

"No. We have to end this. Nathan and his men, they'll never stop hunting us."

"Then we'll fake our deaths." Claire said desperately.

"No one would believe that Claire." Peter said softly. "They know everything about our abilities. They know what we can and _can't _do."

"It's not safe here!" Claire yelled, unable to control herself any longer. "God Peter! Why do you always have to come running back here? No matter what your family does, you always come back to them! You're here to see your mother! I know it! You want to talk to her, but what good is that going to do? For all we know she's in on it with Nathan now! It's always been like this, she may not have been with him when I was taken, but when push comes to shove your mother and brother are against you!"

"Claire." Peter began, reaching out a hand.

"No Peter! We can't be here! We have to leave! If you don't want to go into hiding, then let's do what Daphne said. Let's get out of here, leave the country, start a new life, together." She continued more softly.

"I can't do that Claire. I can't just leave. If I leave now, then Nathan keeps going. And all the people he captures will be on my conscience. I can stop this, I can save them."

"You can save them?" Claire asked. "Why do you always have to be the hero Peter? Why can't you understand that there is a time to fight and a time to run and right now it's time to run. You can't kill your brother, we both know that. So no matter what happens, in the long run, he wins. You can fight him, you can threaten him, but we both know you can't kill him. So he'll keep going. He'll just move his operation, go deeper, hide it better so that no one knows what he's actually doing. Then no one would be able to stop him."

"Claire." Peter whispered again, stepping forward and wrapping a hand around her neck to pull her in for a hard kiss. This kiss was like none other they shared. It's deep, hard and fast, all their aggressions and fears come out in this kiss. Claire bit Peter's lip, her lips parting open for the entry of his tongue. Peter explored the recesses of Claire's mouth, their tongues tangling wildly as both fought for control of the kiss. Peter wrenched his lips from Claire's to place biting kisses along her neck, stopping where her neck met her collarbone to suck deeply at the soft skin.

Claire moaned as he sucked harder, one hand holding tightly onto Peter's hair, while the other grasped his bicep.

Without warning, Peter lifted Claire in his arms and Claire quickly wrapped her legs around his waist as his lips met hers again in another deep kiss. Claire broke apart, her lips trailing down Peter's neck, as he kicked open the door to his bedroom, moving blindly through the room until his shins hit the edge of his bed. He dropped Claire lightly onto the bed, following quickly to crouch over her.

His lips met hers again, his tongue darting into her mouth to trace along the inside of her cheeks and tangle with her tongue, as his hand slipped underneath the hem of her shirt. He slowly inched the material up, pulling it over her head before moving his lips down along Claire's neck, nipping lightly as he hand came to rest on her bra-clad breast. His other hand rode her hip, playing lightly with the button on her jeans.

Claire gasped as Peter's lips moved from her neck to kiss lightly around the tops of her breasts, his teeth moving lower to pull the material away from her aching breasts. She moaned deeply when Peter's tongue lightly traced around the straining peak. She arched her back, pushing her breasts up, groaning with need until Peter took her nipple deeply in his mouth. She pulled his shirt up, Peter only releasing her breast to pull the shirt over his head as Claire kissed the expanse of chest revealed to her and Peter returned his attention to her breast, suckling deeply on one nipple and then the other, his second hand reaching up to tweak at the abandoned peak. She shifted, giving herself room to open her legs wide enough to Peter's hips to settle between. They both gasped as their lower bodies came into contact. Peter sucked more deeply at Claire's breasts, as she arched again to bring their lower bodies into closer contact, causing her and Peter to groan as their lower halves connected.

Claire reached down to unzip the fly of his jeans, her small hand reaching inside the opening to take him into her hand. Peter groaned as Claire's hand moved lightly along his shaft, his attention momentarily shifted from Claire's breasts.

He closed his eyes, shifting to place lingering kisses along her stomach, stopping to swirl his tongue around her bellybutton before moving lower. Claire released him with a moan as he quickly unzipped her jeans, stopping to meet Claire's eyes. Claire nodded and gave him a small smile before Peter stripped her of her jeans and underwear.

Peter leaned back on his heels to take in the sight of Claire, naked, sprawled on his bed. He noted the rosy blush across her chest, and her lips, still swollen from his kisses. Claire lifted her legs to wrap them tightly around his hips, causing Peter to fall back over her.

"Impatient?" He asked, laughing as he moved his lips down to her golden curls. Claire moaned deeply as Peter's tongue and fingers worked their magic. She gasped as she felt herself reaching closer to her peak, before Peter abruptly pulled away. Claire groaned in frustration and looked up at Peter's glittering eyes.

She reached out for him, but Peter leaned back, holding steady as Claire tried to pull him back towards her.

"Are you sure about this Claire? Because once we start, I don't think I'd be able to stop." He said softly.

"I'm sure Peter. I want this. I want you." She said leaning forward to kiss him.

Peter grinned and pulled off his jeans and underwear. Claire's eyes widened before she gave him an impish grin.

Peter came back over her, resting his weight on his elbows. They kissed deeply, tongues tangling as Peter inched inside her. He stopped suddenly, pulling their mouths apart and looking down to where they were barely connected.

"Claire. I don't have any protection." He said quietly, his eyes meeting hers.

"It's okay. I'm covered." Claire answered, arching up to pull him in deeper.

Peter kissed her again as he plunged in fully, swallowing Claire's gasp. They moved together in unison, instantly finding each other's rhythm, trying to make the moment last as long as possible.

* * *

Peter and Claire lay sprawled in the bed, the sheets tangled around their feet. Claire cuddled up to Peter's side as she tried to find the right words.

"That was." She began.

"Amazing." Peter finished, leaning down for a light kiss.

Claire tried to hold back a yawn, but Peter caught the wrinkling of her nose. He pulled her closer, smiling as Claire threw a leg over his, her hand above his heart.

"We should get some sleep." He said quietly, his fingers lightly tracing up and down her side.

"We haven't figured out what we're going to do." Claire answered sleepily. "Someone got us distracted."

Peter grinned, but kept silent.

Within minutes, Claire drifted off to sleep, Peter idly running his fingers along her side.

"I already know what we're going to do." He whispered, closing his eyes for a few hours of sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Eleven**

Peter's eyes shot open, instantly coming alert. He looked down at the halo of blonde hair that was spread across his chest and smiled as he took in Claire's sleeping form. He felt the weight of her leg entangled with his and the steady beat of her heart. Noting a change in the environment of the apartment, Peter kissed Claire lightly, before slipping out of bed smiling as he caught sight of Claire's leg peaking out from beneath the sheets. He leaned forward to pull the blanket back in place and couldn't stop himself from taking a moment to commit Claire's form to memory. He watched Claire frown in her sleep at the loss of contact and snuggle deeper into the blankets as he pulled on his jeans and t-shirt from last night. Peter moved to his closet to pull out some of Claire's clothes that she had left behind on some previous visit and laid them out on the bed before moving to stand in the doorway of the bedroom.

Nathan prowled quietly around the apartment, only stopping when he caught sight of his brother leaning against the frame in the bedroom's open doorway.

He looked past the younger man to the messy bed, where the sleeping Claire lay, her bare shoulders peeking from underneath the blanket.

"Jesus Peter." Nathan cursed, watching as Claire shifted in her sleep, a bare calf slipping back into view.

Peter pushed away from the doorframe, and closed it silently behind him before moving into the living room.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to get here." He said stopping in front of his brother.

"You had to know we'd be watching. The only reason you'd come back here is to get my attention. So what do you want Peter?"

"I want you to stop this Nathan. Stop hunting your own kind." Peter growled.

"I can't do that. Don't you see Pete? These powers are dangerous. They need to be contained."

Peter laughed harshly and ran a hand through his hair.

"They need to be contained? A few months ago you were planning to give them to everyone. So what is it Nathan? Does everyone get to have powers, or do you kill everyone who already has them?"

"We're not killing people with powers. Just incapacitate them, make sure that they can't be a danger to anyone."

"What about the danger to them? How many people died on that plane Nathan? How many have been taken from their families?"

"Peter, you know what I'm doing is for the best."

"I know that you think you're doing what's best." Peter countered turning to look at the closed bedroom door, deep in thought.

"I want to make a deal." Peter suddenly said, turning to look at his brother.

"You take Claire off your list, and I'll come with you, willingly."

"Peter. She's dangerous, she needs to be contained."

"I'm more dangerous then her!" Peter burst out. "Her ability is protective. It only helps her, it doesn't affect anyone else!"

"My records say differently." Nathan answered. At Peter's blank stare he elaborated. "Her blood can heal anything. If that gets in the wrong hands, it could be disastrous."

"If she's in your hands, that's disastrous." Peter mockingly replied. "I know you'd kill to have me in custody. I may not have been on the original list, but after the crash, I know I'm on it now. And we both know if I don't want to be caught I won't be, and that I'll keep fighting you every step of the way."

Peter moved closer to his brother. "Keep Claire safe, and I'll come with you."

Nathan paced around the room for a few minutes growling under his breath before stopping and returning to his position in front of Peter.

"Fine Pete. You want to sacrifice yourself for her? I won't even begin to get into how sick this whole thing is." Nathan said, picking up his phone and saying a few terse words.

The bedroom door quietly opened behind them as Claire peeked out blearily.

"Peter?" She asked, pulling down the hem of Peter's t-shirt that rode high across her thighs. She glanced around the room, her eyes widening as she took in Nathan's form.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She snarled, instantly awake.

"Claire." Peter started, moving forward. Before he can reach Claire, the apartment door burst open.

Men geared in riot uniforms swarmed into the room. Claire reached out to Peter, prepared to pull them both into the bedroom. Before she could grab him, one of the men shoved her to the ground as two others seized each of Peter's arms.

"Don't hurt her!" Peter yelled, struggling against the men so he could watch Claire pull herself up into a sitting position. Once he was satisfied that Claire was okay, Peter stilled and allowed the two men to wrench his arms behind his back and cuff him.

"Peter?" Claire asked confused.

The men began to lead Peter through the living room, before Claire had a chance to react. Pushing past the man in front of her, Claire rushed up to one of the men holding Peter to hit him.

"Let him go!" She yelled, kicking out at the second man.

"Claire!" Peter yelled as two other men joined the fray, lifting Claire of her feet and pinioning her arms to her sides. "Let her go!" He yelled.

"Peter what are you doing?" Claire yelled, struggling against the men holding her.

"What I have to do." He answered, his eyes meeting Claire's.

"No." She whispered. "Not like this."

_I love you_. She let the thought flutter through her mind. _Don't leave me._

Peter's eyes widened as he heard her thoughts. "I do too." He whispered, allowing himself to be pulled once again towards the door.

"No!" Claire screamed, fighting against the two men holding her. "Don't do this!"

The team leader stepped up to the struggling Claire, motioning to his men that he'd take control of the girl. Claire gasped brokenly, fighting back tears as the team leader stopped in front of Nathan.

"Sir, what about the girl?"

"Leave her. She's not on the list."

"Sir, she's one of the top fugitives."

"She's not on the list!" Nathan yelled, watching as two of guards led Peter out the door. Once Peter was out of earshot, Nathan turned to his leader. "She's the only thing that will keep him in line. For now, leave her be. We'll make sure he knows how quickly that can change."

"Peter!" Claire screamed, struggling once again against the team leader.

"He's not coming back for you." Nathan answered. "The deal's done. Go on with your life Claire. Take this gift and don't waste it."

"I hate you." She spat, finally pulling free of the team leader's hold.

Nathan motioned for his men to precede him out of the apartment. At the doorway he stopped to look at Claire, who stood in the middle of the living room, her arms wrapped tightly around herself.

Once again taking in her t-shirt clad form and remembering the image that spilled out of the bedroom only minutes before, Nathan sighed deeply.

"Nothing could ever come of it. It's sick." Nathan said sternly.

"You're the one who's sick." Claire answered darkly. "What you're doing is sick."

Nathan just stared at her a moment longer, before striding out of the apartment.

After his footsteps faded away, Claire collapsed in the center of the living room, sobs wracking her frame. She crawled across the living room, not feeling the broken glass that dug into her skin, to where Peter had thrown his jacket the night before. Fumbling with the phone she pulled from his pocket, Claire took a deep breath before scanning the numbers. She held the phone to her ear, tears silently streaming down her face.

"Matt?" She asked brokenly, when the older man answered.

"Claire?" Matt asked, holding the phone closer to his ear at the heartbreak in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"Peter." She ground out.

"What about Peter?"

"They took him." She cried, clutching the phone close. "Nathan and his men, they came and they took him."

"Claire, we're coming to get you right now. We'll be there in a minute." Matt answered, motioning to Daphne, Hiro and Ando.

"I'm not at the apartment." Claire said quietly, cringing when she thought about what their reaction would be to the latest bit of information.

"What? Where are you?" Matt asked urgently.

"New York." She answered.

"You're in New York?" Matt burst out, causing Claire to close her eyes in despair. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Peter wanted to come. He knew that the only way to stop this was to stop Nathan. So he made a deal, he offered himself to protect me and they took him." She shook her head. "He told me that they wouldn't be watching his apartment. But he knew they would, he planned this, he wanted them to take him. I don't know what to do. He can't stop Nathan alone." She continued, her voice breaking.

"Claire, just stay where you are." Matt said with what he hope was an assuring tone. "We're coming."

* * *

Matt hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes.

"What happened?" Daphne asked, coming to stand at his side.

"Peter gave himself up."

"He did what?" Ando asked, eyes wide.

"He offered a trade. He gave himself up if they'd leave Claire alone. She's a mess." Matt answered.

"We must go to the cheerleader." Hiro said firmly.

"We have to contact the others, get the cars ready."

"No." Daphne said. Matt turned questioning eyes to her. "We'll go now, it's quicker. She's all alone up there, there's no telling what she'd do once she's had time to take in everything that's happened. Everyone else can meet us there." She continued looking to Hiro and Ando, who nodded and promised to contact the others.

"Let's go." Were Matt's only words.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter Twelve**

As soon as Peter was outside his apartment, his world went dark. He grimaced, not only at the stale smell of the canvas bag that was thrown over his head, but the disadvantage it put him at as he had to blindly follow his captors. He was slowly led downstairs, ears anxiously listening for any sound that might indicate that Nathan didn't keep his promise and Claire had been taken as well.

Peter was grateful when they emerged from the building as the bright sunshine, allowed a little light to penetrate the bag. He was shoved into what he assumed was the backseat of a car, with no warning other then a quick shove on his head to push it down as he went into the car. Moments passed before Peter could breathe another sigh of relief as he heard his brother's purposeful steps.

He felt the car shift as Nathan took his seat.

"She's safe." Was all the older Petrelli would say before the car roared to life began to start moving through the streets of New York.

* * *

Peter was unsure how much time passed or how far they'd gotten before the car came to its final stop. Being New York City, for all he knew they only drove a couple of miles away. He kept his silence as he was pulled out of the vehicle and led away. Through a slit in the bottom of the bag, Peter could see the floor change from concrete to linoleum and knew they had entered some kind of building. Their steps echoed down the corridor as Peter was led through the building. He was pushed into an elevator and started a little as it began to move down. After a few moments the movement stopped and Peter was led into another hallway. Moments passed before he heard the telltale slide of a plastic card and the responding beep as a lock open. He was led forward and pushed down to sit on a cot. As soon as he hit the flat surface of the cot, the bag was pulled off his head. Peter grimaced while his eyes adjusted to the bright lights.

Peter slowly looked around the small cell, noting the cot and sink, before turning his attention to his captors. Two armed guards stood at the entrance, while Nathan stood off to the side.

"I apologize for the accommodations Pete." Nathan began, striding closer. "But your escapade last month led to too many questions, so we had to change location very quickly."

"Sorry about that." Peter answered sarcastically. "I'll try to be more careful next time."

Nathan laughed roughly, before turning to the guards.

"Give us a moment." He said, gesturing them to move out.

"But Senator." The first man began. "The protocol. It isn't safe."

"He won't hurt me." Nathan said with confidence. "He understands that if anything happens to me, all deals are off the table." Nathan continued, turning to look at Peter, smirking as his younger brother's eyes narrowed in understanding.

"It's fine. I'll just be a minute. Wait outside." Nathan said gesturing again. Once the two men were out of the room, Nathan motioned to the pile of white clothes next to Peter on the cot.

"For you." He said, leaning against the wall.

"What do you want Nathan?" Peter asked, moving further back on the cot to sit against the wall.

"To protect us."

"Us?" Peter spat out. "You're one of _us_." He growled out.

"Peter I'm just trying to protect everyone. You of all people should know how dangerous these powers can be."

Nathan moved to the doorway to gesture to the guards outside to let him out.

"Get changed Pete. You'll be here awhile."

* * *

Claire wasn't sure how much time passed before she was no longer alone in the apartment. The two figures passed the doorway so quickly that Claire didn't even have time to jump to her feet before Daphne was crouched next to her, holding her close.

Matt came to a stop a few feet away from the two women, and after noticing Claire's state of undress, he turned to peer around the room to protect Claire's modesty. A moment later he felt a light pressure on his shoulder and turned to look into Daphne's grim eyes. He looked past Daphne to where Claire was finishing buttoning the shirt that Peter had left out for her.

Matt discreetly looked to the bedroom as he caught a stray thought of Claire's then shook his head to rid himself of the image.

He was not sly enough as Claire caught his movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking towards the bedroom she sighed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to think about that." She said softly.

"No, I'm sorry. I know better then to let my guard down. I invaded your privacy."

"You must think we're freaks huh?" She asked with a harsh laugh.

"No." Matt replied instantly. "If that's what makes you two happy, who am I to judge?" He said, thinking back to the beginning of his and Daphne's relationship.

"What are you two talking about?" Daphne asked, looking from one to the other.

"Peter and I were, _intimate_." Claire said. "He knew that he'd be captured soon, that's probably the only reason why it even happened." She continued sadly.

"No!" Matt replied. "I've been hanging around with Peter for over a year. And at the beginning, before we learned how to use this power, to block each other out, let's just say you were often in his thoughts."

"Really?" Claire asked hopefully. "Because I thought the only way he'd take this a step further was if he knew that this would be our last day together."

"I doubt he thought that far ahead." Daphne said gently. "And even if he did, he probably figured this way, you guys at least had a bit of happiness for a little while."

"So what happened?" Matt asked, following Claire and Daphne to the couch.

"Nathan." Claire spat out. "When I woke up this morning he was already here. He and his men just took Peter. He said Peter made a deal. Him for me."

"Do you have any idea where they went?" Daphne asked.

"No. Not the facility in Texas. They wouldn't take anyone there anymore. The plane crash would've raised too many questions." Claire answered. "Nathan would want Peter close. Wherever they have their base of operations, that's where they'll keep Peter." Claire continued thoughtfully.

"The others are on their way. Once Micah and Tracy get here we'll start working on finding their headquarters." Matt said.

* * *

As the day wore on, Claire, Matt and Daphne cleared all evidence of the morning. Long after the sun set, a heavy knock sounded on the door. Claire and Daphne jumped to their feet from their place on the floor where they had been quietly talking. Matt held out a hand for them to be silent, as he moved closer to the door, listening intently.

"It's the others." Matt said, after hearing Mohinder's greeting. He pulled open the door to admit Mohinder, Tracy, Hiro, Ando and Micah.

Once everyone was inside and caught up, Micah and Tracy sat in front of Peter's laptop. Micah quickly set up the computer so it could not be traced, before turning to the others for direction.

"So what kind of place am I looking for?" He asked.

The other's turned to Tracy in question.

"What, just because I worked with people in the government doesn't mean I was privy to all their secret locations."

Mohinder stepped forward to peer over Micah's shoulder.

"Well they'd need a facility large enough to house the technical equipment as well as any prisoners." He began, not hearing Claire's small gasp at the word 'prisoners'.

Micah sat silently for a moment, then began to type furiously at the keys. "If I can find what type of equipment they're using, I might be able to track where they were shipped to."

Claire stood up from her spot on the couch and moved to the apartment door.

Daphne jumped up, but Claire waved her away.

"I just want to get a little fresh air. I've been in this apartment all day." She said. "I'll be fine, I'm safe remember." She finished, pulling the door open and stepping out into the hall.

Daphne nodded, and moved to sit back down, before jumping up again. Rushing into the hall, she handed Claire a small cell phone.

"Just in case." She said quietly, reaching out to give the younger woman a quick hug, before closing the door silently behind her.

In the living room Tracy quickly ran down the list of equipment government officials usually used in hopes that wherever this operation was being run from used similar electronics. As Tracy named each item, Micah instantly added it to the computers search, trying to get a hit.

* * *

Claire moved slowly down the steps of Peter's building. She pulled open the front door and looked down both sides of the street, before stepping out. She sat down on the top step, sighing deeply.

Claire looked up towards the sky, for once cursing the city she had come to love, as she was unable to see the stars beyond the buildings.

So lost she was in her thoughts, that Claire did not notice the car parked down the street.

* * *

"Sir." A man said into the darkness. "The girl, the cheerleader. She's outside of your brother's building."

"She is not on the list." Nathan answered sternly from the other end, before hanging up."

"He said she's off limits." The man said turning to his partner, who sat in the driver's seat, peering intently out the window.

"Interesting consider as of last night she was a top priority." He watched as Claire came to her feet and moved aimlessly down the steps.

"Screw Petrelli. I didn't make a fucking deal." He growled, throwing open his door and silently moved down the street.

His partner cursed, but grabbed his dart gun and followed his partner and the girl as they slipped into an alley.

* * *

Claire moved around the side of the building, slipping into the alley having decided to go inside through the building's back door. She heard a faint noise behind her, causing her to shiver and look out of the corner of her eye for any signs of movement. Seeing nothing, but still spooked, Claire quickened her pace, drawing deeper into the alley. Without warning a heavy weight knocked her to the ground. Claire gasped to try to bring air back into her lungs, as she was forcefully turned over and saw the face of her attacker.

"So what did you do to get yourself off the list." The man growled, grabbing Claire's flailing hands and pulling them above her head. "Don't even try to fight me. You won't win." He continued.

"Who the hell are you?" She cried out, trying to buck him off. Claire heard a second set of footsteps come down the alley and could see a second man in a suit bearing down on them. She struggled harder, trying to kick at the man holding her down, but as the dart gun came into her view she stopped.

"Please." She whispered, as a single tear trickled down her cheek. "Don't do this."


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter Thirteen**

All she could see around her was white. Claire sat up on the hard cot and looked around the small room. She noted the sink, toilet and white walls, before dropping back down on the cot groaning.

She lay there for a few moments waiting for her head to clear, trying to remember what happened between those guys showing up in the alley and this moment. Clawing her fingers through her hair she groaned again.

"I thought I wasn't to be touched!" She yelled out loud, opening her eyes again to scan the room for the camera. Spotting it in the far right corner she jumped out of bed and moved to stand underneath it. "He made a deal! I wasn't supposed to be touched!" She yelled again at the camera. She moved back to the cot and sat against the wall, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I can't believe this is happening." She whispered, closing her eyes and leaning her head against her knees. "I was supposed to save him, how am I going to do that now." She moaned, worrying over what they were doing to Peter as she sat locked in this room, tears escaping her eyes.

Three rooms down the hall, a dark head popped up as Claire's thoughts came rushing through.

"Claire." Peter whispered brokenly.

"You bastards!" He yelled, jumping to his feet and slamming his fist against the wall. "We had a deal!"

* * *

"What do you mean Claire was captured?" Nathan yelled, running his hand furiously through his hair as he paced in front of the two men seated before him. "I told you. Peter made a deal! He was willing to be captured as long as Claire was safe. It was the perfect plan. We had Peter contained and were able to keep him under control with any threat to Claire's safety. If he finds out that she was captured, no one will be able to control him!"

"She was planning something. Others came to the apartment. When she came out alone, it was the perfect chance."

"Do you think that matters? Did you honestly believe that Claire and her band of misfits could come up with a plan that would actually be detrimental to us?" One of the men opened his mouth, but Nathan held up a hand. "The answer is no! Peter was their most powerful member and without him they were weak. They may have tried to rescue him, but given Peter's willingness to go with us, they might have decided not to risk their own capture, at least not at this time. It would've given us time to move him to a facility further away." Nathan paused again, then burst out. "And on top of all this, you brought her here! We don't know how strong his abilities are, for all we know he already knows that she was captured!" Nathan stopped and leaned over the two men. "Never again will you make a move without my order do you understand me." He asked menacingly.

Just as Nathan leaned back against his desk blaring alarms filled the silence. Nathan blinked against the flashing lights and reached across his desk to pick up the phone.

"What the hell is going on?" He yelled into the receiver, listening for a minute then cursed. "Already? How the hell did he find out that she's here already?" Nathan slammed down the receiver. "Shit!" He cursed, banging his fists against the desk. "What the hell are you two sitting there for? He's escaped! Get down there and fix this!"

* * *

When the alarms blared and lights flashed, Claire jumped up from her cot and rushed to the door of her cell. She reached up on her tip toes to try to peer out the small window to see what was happening outside in the hall. A flash of white passed her field of vision and Claire jumped back as she heard a man's scream out in the hall. Her head shot up and she moved back another step as her door swung open. A man in a white coat rushed in, slamming the door behind him, before turning to face her.

"This is all your fault." He said quietly, moving towards her. "You should never have been brought here, and now everything's a mess." He continued moving closer and closer, as Claire backed up against the wall. "It's all gone to hell anyway. Might as well take as many of you with us as we can." He said before brandishing a syringe, then lunging, he pressed it into her arm so quickly that Claire didn't have a chance to cry out, before the drug took its effect and she fell to the ground.

"I'm not going to die here." The man said, looking down at Claire's inert form. He pulled a gun out of his pocket, before pulling Claire up to hold her in front of him as he faced the door and waited.

* * *

Peter sent one flash of ice down the hall after another, throwing men who swarmed out of the different hallways in every direction as they tried to hold him back. He moved slowly closer to Claire's cell, throwing one man after another out of his way. He reached out a hand to pull open the door, when the dart hit his back. Peter growled and pulled it out, throwing it back towards the guard who shot it, hitting him square in the chest. He watched the man go down and looked around him at the carnage of people lying on the floor in varying states, before using Mohinder's power to wrench the door off of Claire's cell.

He stopped abruptly at the sight before him. He sneered, then stepped closer when he saw the doctor, holding Claire up against him.

"I wouldn't do that Mr. Petrelli." The doctor said nervously, backing up a step, and pressing the pistol harder against Claire's temple. "She's been given the drug, which means that until it wears off she's powerless. And if you take another step I will pull this trigger and the invincible girl will be dead and it will be all your fault."

Peter stopped in his tracks, eyes narrowing on the gun held in the man's hands.

"You better let her go." He quietly threatened.

"Not until I'm safely away from this hell hole." The doctor argued, shaking his head and stepping back, pulling Claire closer.

Peter's eyes dropped to Claire's face, noting any movement or change of expression.

"I'll give you one more chance. Let her go now and I don't kill you."

"You're not a killer. Your brother said so. Now you're going to let me leave the building, safely, and I'll give her back to you."

Peter frowned for a moment, then cocked his head, his eyes widening slightly before returning his gaze to the doctor.

"Time's up." He said simply. The doctor's eyes widened in alarm, as the arm holding the gun shot up, turning the gun on himself. He started to shake as he tried to force the gun down on the girl held in front of him, but before he could blink the bullet was discharged.

Before Claire could fall to the ground, Peter rushed forward to catch her in his arms. He sank to the ground, cradling her, speaking softly as he waited for her to fully wake up. He closed his eyes to concentrate on her mind as she slowly began to push off the effects of the drugs. When he felt her coming close to consciousness, Peter opened his eyes and looked down at Claire's face and smiled.

"Welcome back." He said softly, placing a light kiss on her lips.

Claire smiled back at him, blinking slowly as the world came into focus.

"Peter." She breathed, leaning up to kiss him more deeply. As she came fully awake, Claire leaned back, breaking their kiss, and frowned, her eyes narrowing. "You gave yourself up!" She accused, pulling herself to a sitting position and moving off of Peter's lap.

Peter opened his mouth to reply, but quickly snapped it shut when Claire shot a look at him.

"You planned to give yourself up and you didn't even tell me!" She accused struggling to her feet, but slapping away Peter's hand when he tried to assist her. "You slept with me, fully knowing what was going to happen the next day."

"In my defense, I didn't know for sure if they'd take the bait."

"Of course you did! You know Nathan better than anyone! You knew he'd have people at your apartment and you knew that if they saw you they'd contact Nathan who would come running. Which is exactly what happened. I can't believe you did all that without telling me!"

"Claire, what would you have done if I told you?" Peter asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"I would've tried to stop you."

"Exactly." Peter responded. "Which is exactly why I didn't tell you."

Claire opened her mouth to continue to argue, but Peter held up a hand for silence. He cursed, then turned to Claire.

"Look we're going to have to argue about this later. They sent for reinforcements, and from the sound of it, they're going to be here any moment."

Claire turned to the door, then looked back at Peter. She held out her hand for his and they both ran through the door out into the hallway. They moved quickly down the twisting halls, making their way towards the exit. As they turned down a long corridor, Peter came up short.

"Nathan." He breathed, halting. Claire came to a stop beside him and glared into the dark eyes of the elder Petrelli.

"Peter. Claire." Nathan said simply, nodding at them both, before returning his eyes to his younger brother's.

"It looked like you made quite an escape there Peter." Nathan said.

"We had a deal Nathan."

"Yes I'm aware of that. I'm also now aware that idiots apparently work for me. They decided to capture our little Claire here all on their own."

"Then I guess you should've had better control over your people. Were they in the hallway perchance?" Peter asked.

"Yes they were. I see you're pleased to hear that." Nathan said noting the look of satisfaction on his brother's face.

"I thought you weren't a killer Peter."

"I am when it's necessary." Peter answered in a low voice.

"Peter." Claire whispered tugging on his hand.

"You will stop this Nathan." Peter said, glancing down at Claire. "Make them stop hunting us, all of us. I don't care what you have to do to do it, but make it happen. Give all of us our lives back."

"I can't do that Peter. You're dangerous, all of you. This needs to be contained."

"You're one of us Nathan! Or did you forget that?" Claire burst out.

"They're trying to come up with a vaccine that will forever inactivate the powers. Once that's available, everyone that was captured will be allowed to return to their lives."

"And what lives would those be? How long would these people be in captivity, like animals, before you give them the vaccine and release them back to the wild?" Peter sneered.

"Pete I'm just doing what needs to be done."

"Peter." Claire said quietly, tugging on his hand and looking into his eyes. They shared a look and Peter sighed.

"I know." He said, raising his head slowly to look at Nathan.

"I'm sorry Nathan." Peter said raising his hand.

Nathan stepped back his eyes widening.

"No Pete. You wouldn't."

"That's right Nathan. He wouldn't." Came a voice from behind Nathan. "But I would." Sylar continued, stepping out of the shadows.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hey guys! Thank you all again for all of the reviews. They've mean a ton to me! I'm sorry for the long gap between updates, but I've been crazy busy. But we're getting close to the end, so I'm hoping to get the last chapters done within the next week or so.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter Fourteen**

"Get out of here." Sylar said quietly, stepping closer to the trio.

"Sylar!" Claire gasped, moving closer to Peter's side.

"I'm not here to hurt you Claire." Sylar said slowly, his dark gaze turning to meet Nathan's. "Now get out of here." He said to Peter and Claire

"What are you going to do?" Peter asked, looking between Sylar and Nathan.

"What needs to be done." Sylar answered quietly.

"No." Peter said forcefully. He moved to step towards Sylar, but found himself hanging mid-air, fingers clawing at his throat for air.

"You're not a killer Peter." Sylar said, lowering the other man back to the ground. "But I am." He finished darkly.

Claire watched Sylar with fearful eyes, reaching down to grab Peter's hand as soon as he was back on his feet.

"Come on Peter." She said softly, tugging on his hand as she took a step back.

"No." He said brokenly, shaking his head.

"Go Peter." Sylar said, moving to stand next to Nathan.

Peter took a step back, his eyes shooting to Nathans.

"Pete." Nathan whispered.

"I'm so sorry Nathan." Peter said sadly. "But it's the only way." He continued, moving another step back as Claire pulled on his hand.

Without another word, Peter and Claire turned and rushed down the halls, ignoring the deafening silence behind them, never breaking their run until they were safely outside.

* * *

"Even if you kill me, they'll still hunt you." Nathan said quietly.

"Oh Nathan. You're so naïve." Sylar said moving around the other man. "There's not going to be anyone left to hunt me." He continued darkly, reaching up, pointer extended.

Nathan's mouth opened on a silent scream as bright red streaks of blood fell down his face. He dropped to the floor without a sound, a sneering Sylar leaning over him.

Sylar watched the other man's final breath dispassionately, his own face slowly contorting.

* * *

Peter and Claire sprinted out into the bright sunlight, taking only a second to make note of their surroundings, before Peter lifted Claire in his arms, and shot up into the sky.

They two remained silent as Peter streaked across the sky, Claire peered over his shoulder to try to see where they were going.

When the familiar skyline of New York came into view, Claire stiffened.

Noting her change in mood, Peter slowed his pace and looked down at Claire questioningly.

"What's wrong?"

"We're going back to New York." Claire stated dully, glancing up to meet his questioning eyes. She instinctively knew why Peter was returning to the city, it was the same reason he turned to his brother the last time they were there.

Peter sighed, before looking around for a safe place to land. Noting Central Park beneath them, he held Claire close as he streaked past, so fast that no one on the ground would notice the two figures dropping from the sky.

As they landed in a secluded area, Peter let slipped Claire out of his arms and ran a hand angrily through his hair, his eyes unseeing as he paced around the small area.

Claire watched him pace in silence, eyes tearing as she saw the pain etched in Peter's face.

"It had to be done." She said quietly, moving forward and placing a hand on his arm, stilling his frantic movements.

"He's my brother." Peter ground out, moving to sit down on a nearby bench. "I just left him there, knowing exactly what would happen to him." Peter dropped his head, so Claire wouldn't see the tears shining in his eyes.

"Peter, he was hunting us. This was the only way to stop it." Claire said desperately, moving to kneel in front of Peter. She reached, her fingers brushing Peter's cheeks, before moving together to lift his chin so his dark brown eyes met her hazel ones.

"You tried to make things right. You tried to talk to him, to make him stop this but he wouldn't listen. Even if he did it was too late. You remember what Tracy said about the money and technology that was used to pull this off, even if Nathan wanted to stop it, he couldn't. It became bigger than him."

"Don't you think I know that?" Peter growled, jumping to his feet. "I knew what I had to do, I was prepared to do it!" He continued, returning to his pacing.

"Peter, who are you kidding?" Claire cried out, coming to her feet and again reaching out to still him. "Look at yourself. You're blaming yourself for what happened to him, even though you had nothing to do with it. We both know you wouldn't be able to live with yourself had you been the one to take his life. Sylar was right. You're not a killer Peter." Claire tugged on his arm to pull him back down to the bench.

"He didn't deserve to die like that." Peter whispered brokenly.

"It was the only way." Claire repeated quietly. The two sat in silence for a few minutes, before Claire turned to look at Peter.

"You're not a killer. And I love that about you." Claire said earnestly. "You have so much to give to the world, you try to save everyone, whether they deserve it or not. But you couldn't save him, and you can't blame yourself." Claire took a deep breath, raising her hand to cup Peter's cheek. "All we can do now is move on and keep the other's safe until they can go home."

Peter nodded slightly, leaning forward to lightly kiss Claire on the lips. He lifted himself from the bench and reached down to pull Claire to her feet. He pulled her close, wrapping an arm tightly around her before kissing the top of her head.

"I love that about you too." He murmured quietly against her blonde locks. Claire smiled lightly and squeezed him closer, before they turned out of the park and made their way back onto the bustle of the city streets.

* * *

As they came to his apartment door, Peter stopped short and closed his eyes in concentration. A moment later, the door swung open and revealed Matt's smiling face.

"I can't believe this!" He burst out, pulling Peter and Claire inside to give them both hugs. "Micah has been searching the computer databases around the clock to narrow down places you two could have taken to, we were just getting ready to leave." Matt threw an arm around the two, before calling out. "Daphne! Come see this!"

The blonde speedster tore into the room, coming to an abrupt stop when she noticed the two people standing with Matt.

"You're safe!" She cried out, running forward to envelope both Claire and Peter in hugs. "We were having so much trouble trying to figure out where they sent you. Tracy was positive you hadn't left the state, that they didn't have the time to move both of you out, but Matt kept arguing that they wouldn't be stupid enough to leave you guys so close, let alone hold you in the same facility."

Matt blushed slightly at Daphne's words and sent her a teasing glare. "Well my idea made more sense." He mumbled. "How was I supposed to know they made that dumb move."

A loud clatter from the kitchen announced the hurried arrival of Hiro and Ando. Mohinder and Tracy followed at a calmer pace, smiles on their faces when they saw Peter and Claire safely returned.

Once all the greetings and exclamations over how this could have happened where out of the way, Peter led everyone to the living room where he and Claire could explain to the others exactly what happened.

As they passed Micah, Claire leaned over to give him a quick hug, and Peter ruffled his hair.

"Thanks for leading the search." Claire said.

"We would've figured out where you guys were sooner if we hadn't spent the first day looking everywhere but right under our noses." He complained good-naturedly.

Matt sighed, but said nothing.

As the adults crowded around each other in the living room, Micah returned to his computer, keeping one ear out to listen to the story, while silently searching the net. As he came across a site his eyes widened.

"Hey guys." He called out. "I think you better get a look at this." He continued, turning the computer screen around so everyone could see the live press conference that was being played.

A blonde reporter stood just outside a wooded area, with a large building engulfed in flames in the background.

"At 5:35 this evening a large fire occurred inside an office building in upstate New York. Authorities believe the incident to be a total loss, as the flames still rage out of control." She paused a moment. "We have been informed that many of the offices in the building belonged to Senator Nathan Petrelli, and we'll be going live to his press conference."

The scene changes to the inside of a hotel ballroom, as Nathan visage filled the screen.

Claire gasped, and looked at Peter with wide eyes. Peter tensed, relaxing only slightly when Claire's small hand clasped his.

"I am here to express my deepest sorrow for the families of those lost in this fire. Many of them were my people. The building was being used to house a special project for the president. One that would have been a great help to the country. With this fire and the great loss of life seen today, the continuation of this project is no longer viable. All records of this project have been lost in the fire and it is impossible to replace them, just as it is impossible to replace those who have been lost. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the families of those who have been lost. It is time for them to go home now. No questions please." Nathan stepped back from the podium, his head down as the reporters scrambled to ask questions.

Claire wrenched her eyes from the screen to look up at Peter questioningly.

"Peter?" She questioned in a low voice.

"That's not Nathan." Peter said darkly, his mind running through different scenarios. "It's Sylar." He stated, knowing without a doubt that his words were true.

"It was a message to all of us." Mohinder said quietly. "Their project is over, they can no longer hunt us. We can finally go home."

* * *

**Author's Note:** I promise I didn't forget this story, things again have been crazy. I can't wait until I'm finally finished with school. I do apologize for how we had to lose Nathan. When I first began the story, that was how I envisioned it ending, that Nathan couldn't be redeemed and this was the only way to free the other Heroes. Thankfully the show hasn't gone that way. Thank you all again for the reviews, they mean so much and keep me writing. All that's left is the epilogue and I'll hopefully have that up soon.


End file.
